The importance of our basic human rights to literacy is annually celebrated on International Literacy Day, 8 September. To some this term refers to the ability to read and write, but Care Protect Invest South Africa (CPI SA) would like to honour it as the ability to equip people with the competence to become financially independent and self-sustaining.
“The saying that you can’t choose the cards that has been dealt to you might be true. You can however choose how you react to the situation, stop the ‘blaming game’ and take control of your own destiny. That’s how the Northern Lights Project came to light in June 2021: to remind young men of South Africa (SA) how to ‘fish’,” says Léan Jacobs, founder of the Northern Lights Project.
This wonderful, entrepreneurial initiative — driven by CPI SA— promises to be a ray of light in the lives of those who deteriorated due to some burden that was passed onto their shoulders. The Northern Lights Project’s purpose is to identify these people within communities and offer them a journey to rebuild themselves and make a decent living so they too one day can assist other helpless persons in regaining their ambition. To qualify for the programme a matric certificate or any other N2-qualification (electrical, craft woodwork or construction) is a requirement.
The Northern Lights Project acknowledges that SA has a huge poverty, unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse issue. Neighbourhoods are crowded with small homes where several families under appalling circumstances reside, trying to survive. According to Department of Basic Education SA has a shocking school drop-out rate of roughly 40%.
“In order to make a difference you need to tackle these problems one at a time. When you are invested in a person, you need to support them up to a point where they fearfully prosper without the risk of having a relapse. We want to restore the sustainable ‘circle of life’ where a man works, earns a living, provides for his family and educates and boost his child so that they too can make a descent salary and become independent,” he says.
Some traumatising events — such as the passing of your parents, the death of a child, financial or marital trouble — and too much pressure however can put you on this path of self-destruction and deterioration. Especially in the Afrikaans culture it is expected that boys, from the young age of 16, should start to earn money and contribute to the family-household.
This pressure often results them in becoming failures; always blaming everyone else for their circumstances. Pride is their downfall. They will be offered help to restore their self-respect and routine, but not accept it.
“If you’ve lost the drive to get up every morning, have a shower, brush your teeth and attend to an earnest day’s work, you are doomed to become a liability to your family or the state. You end up doing the work of unskilled labourers, earning less than minimum wage, in an effort to survive. Some even turn to drugs or alcohol to escape their reality,” he explains.
The main objective of Northern Light’s life development programme is to identify and uplift persons, who seek to help themselves, and empowering them with life skills and training. The sustainability of the programme lies in the support the candidate receives and his or her willingness to accept the offer.
“You can give a person a fish to eat every day, or teach him how to fish. These people once had the ability or ambition to take care of themselves. We need to remind them and restore their dignity to take them off the streets.”
In his experience Léan, an established business man and successful project manager, has identified communal housing as one of the main pitfalls in these types of projects. The Northern Lights Project therefor only focuses on 10 candidates, between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, at a time. Throughout the programme they will reside in their own Wendy house in Pretoria North.
“By placing these broken men in a communal environment reduces the chance of them regaining their independence. Our individual approach ensures they function in a controlled environment, get thorough support and have access to social workers, religious leaders and the online courses and the training they require. We also equip them with life skills, like how to handle a budget and manage time, so they can truly prosper and reach their full potential,” he says.
The Northern Lights Project offers a sustainable solution to a massive social problem. “If these candidates are willing to cooperate, we can give them a new horizon!” he says.
Afrikaanse Toekomstrust (ATT) is also invested in the project. If you are willing to invest in restoring someones identity, you are welcome to contact CPI SA directly 012 111 8352.
For media enquiries contact:
Dinah Bronkhorst – Executive Head
Cell: 072 126 1158
