27 Aug 2017

The future of any society lies in its youth hence the need to prepare them for future responsibilities.

It is for this reason that government came up with initiatives to empower the youth.

The Youth Development Fund (YDF) makes the list of government programmes which have benefited and continue to benefit young people.

One such youth who has benefited from the programme is Mr Othusitse Letlotlo of Lehututu.

His journey into the business world was motivated by the fact that he wanted to be self-employed and break away from the chains of poverty.

Coming from a poor family that depended on government for survival, he made it his mission to improve his family’s living standard.

He drew strength from Bob Marley’s song that states that emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.

Mr Letlotlo became a statistic of unemployment after failing Junior Certificate in 2004.

Unlike others who resigned themselves to fate when unemployment derailed them from their future ambitions, Mr Letlotlo did the contrary.

He did menial jobs to earn a living.

Fast forward to 2010, he met a Good Samaritan who introduced him to the world of video shooting.

Things turned around as his mentor also gave him incentives to motivate him to work hard.

 Though the equipment he started with was not advanced, he appreciated the opportunity which set him on the right path.

After gaining experience, he joined the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) in 2013. The programme was introduced by government to enable the youth to develop good work ethic and business training through character building and technical skills through boot camps and attachments.

The reason behind his decision he said was to acquire business skills before starting his own.

“I really appreciated the Department of Youth in Hukuntsi where I was attached. I learnt a lot about business since they monitor YDF beneficiaries’ businesses,” he said.

His stint with the department was short lived as he applied for YDF in 2014 and his request approved the following year, forcing him to quit and focus on his business which was funded with P100 000.

The light started to shine brighter as he acquired modern video cameras, printers, studio lights, camera stand and other equipment.

His business caters for customers from all walks of life including government departments, council, companies, individuals and tourists.

He credited the success of his business to good customer service, perseverance, hard work and commitment.

Determined to make it in the business world, Mr Letlotlo is looking at introducing photography.

He said having a mentor helped as one could avoid mistakes which discouraged those interested in starting a business. ENDS