I am Mmakgabo Confidance Mapotse. I was born and raised in the dusty, rural province of Limpopo in the Republic of South Africa. Currently, I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biotechnology and Botany at the University of Limpopo, and my university study, coupled with my enthusiasm to innovate, have sparked my interest for the environment and green technologies. Moreover, having been involved in various students and youth based organizations, I have been inspired to seek and promote change in my community.
Guided by this aspiration, in 2010 I co-founded a community youth-based organisation called Moletjie Youth Community Centre (NPO). With this organisation, we are able to reach the youth, especially students, to teach and guide them through tutoring, workshops and dialogues encouraging the habit of recycling and reusing materials and fostering the culture of conservation.
This initiative has helped the youth to be in a position to understand the difference between the renewable and non-renewable resources that are available, enabled them to realise the detrimental effects of their scarcity, and has encouraged them to seek to prevent the perpetuation of climate change challenge through their actions. They have been inspired to strive to protect the environment, which is “our source of life”.
The good work I have been doing thus far has been recognized and I was not long ago nominated to be one of the nine finalists of the “2013 ICC Young Community Shapers of the Year” in South Africa. This has highly encouraged me to do more and to strive to reach out to more youth and bring them into the fold of environmentally sensitive and responsible young people.
Apart from my community and youth sensitization project, my passion for green technologies has further pushed me to found and direct Thaata Solar Geyser Installer, a company for selling and installing solar geysers and plumbing. I founded this business to encourage the use of solar geysers for domestic water heating, thereby helping families save money on electricity and protecting the environment from the pollution that comes with electric power generation.
In all, I believe it is of paramount importance to engage youth, as we are the active generation who hold the future of the world in our hands. My key message has been anchored on how proper management and conservation of natural resources can improve our lives. But it is up to us, the youth, to get more involved and make sure that we maintain our unique environment.
Blogpost by Mmakgabo Confidance Mapotse, Co-founder Moletjie Youth Community Centre
Blogpost edited by Bunmi Ajilore ( Ecoagriculturist Blog)
Picture: Moletjie Youth Community Centre
