Friday, 12 April 2013

P.A.Y. programme has a long-standing ambition to expand into other regions of Namibia. Our current work at the Multi-Purpose Youth Centre in Katutura has proved extremely valuable in terms of providing a stable framework for continuous after-school activities engaging Katutura’s youth. We wish to replicate this model across Namibia’s remaining 12 regions and tap into the vast reservoir of creativity and initiative that is rendered passive by poverty and a lack of perspective. Volunteering plays a central role in the execution of our activities for at least two reasons: it bypasses the ‘lack of resources’ impediment often quoted to provide an excuse for a lack of engagement; and it responsibilises the youth toward each other. For this to succeed, however, we need to provide a stable infrastructure for these activities to take place, as we have done in Katutura by signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Youth. The existing network of Multi-Purpose Youth Centres in Namibia would be an excellent starting point. However, in order to compel the Government and/or local authorities to extend their support and allow us to use the facilities in the Multi-Purpose Youth Centres network, we need to be able to show that we can successfully equip the spaces with the necessary amenities, including teaching materials, computer labs, sports equipment and cover the transportation costs for many of our outdoors events.  Moreover, ensuring the stable inflow of volunteers is a huge challenge especially in the initial stages of project implementation.

Unlike many sister organizations, P.A.Y.has survived the withdrawal of global sponsors such as the World Bank through sheer tenacity and enormous voluntary efforts of its national and international alumni. Hence, P.A.Y. feels ready to become a nation-wide programme spearheading Namibia’s youth into a better tomorrow though education, sports and self-empowerment.

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