By Nangamso Mabindla
28 June 2005

YOUNG people across Africa faced similar problems and needed to learn from each other ways to combat the challenges that threatened them.

These were the words of Gerrit Maritz, the United Nations International Children's Fund (Unicef) project officer on youth development and HIV/Aids prevention.

Maritz, who recently visited Tanzania, was speaking at the launch of the Buffalo City Youth Development Strategy in East London.

The strategy aims to empower young people to become more involved in developmental local government affairs and the decisions that affect them. It also has a focus on HIV/Aids, and aims to minimise the rate of new HIV infections among the city's youth.

Youngsters in Tanzania were no different from those in South Africa; they also faced HIV/Aids, unemployment and poverty.

"They face exactly the same challenges as our youth; but what impressed me was their community involvement and the willingness to learn from other youths," Maritz said.

However, the difference between the youngsters from the two small towns Maritz visited and local youngsters, was their lack of resources.

"The youth centres we visited were very impressive when it came to commitment; these youngsters are making a difference in their communities. That is what we need with our youths," Maritz said.

With its new youth development strategy, Buffalo City needed to assist smaller municipalities like uMhlontlo and Umzimvubu develop their own strategies focussing on youth matters.

uMhlontlo and Umzimvubu are presidential nodal areas and Buffalo City could play an important role in the development of young people there.

"The city's youth need to work closely with youths from other municipalities. They need to assist them work out a strategy that will be good for their municipalities," Maritz said.

Young people also needed to be more involved in community building programmes on HIV/Aids, neighbourhood watch initiatives and other programmes, he said.

"What I saw in the small towns outside Dar es Salaam was moving. These youths were assisting each other and participating in the community. And they did this without having proper resources."