Chairperson of Indoni, a cultural organisation that promotes African tradition and values, Dr. Nomcebo Mthembu says that the organisation will continue encouraging young people to use traditional knowledge to tackle challenges.
Mthembu was speaking in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, where a recent programme taught youth various skills, including brewing traditional beer, traditional dances, and other cultural aspects.
Mthembu elaborates, “As Indoni, we organise cultural activities for the youth and teach young people to be proud of who they are and to know their origin. We tell them that they must use cultural knowledge to face the challenges they encounter in life. In other cultures, this is the solution to those challenges. The youth attended a one-week programme teaching them about their history, handwork, bead making, traditional beer brewing, and collecting wood from the forest.”
Indoni heritage celebrations
Mthembu says they also work with young boys on how to treat women and girls.
“We teach boys especially to be leaders of tomorrow and we want to make sure that we end this scourge of GBV against women and children. We teach boys to regard girls as their sisters and we teach girls to regard boys as their brothers. We teach both to respect each other all the time. And I really appreciate the role played by parents as some are mentors of these children.”
