POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE THINKING

According to UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon, young people can and must play a central role in bringing dynamic new ideas. They must bring fresh thinking and energy in order to bring a more just world marked with greater solidarity. This call could not have come at a better time than now when young people are faced by numerous challenges ranging from unemployment to drug and substance abuse to exploitation and so on.

These challenges makes the young people vulnerable resulting to recklessness and subsequently becomes a security threat to themselves and the community at large. While efforts are being made from all quarters to ensure that the young people are kept busy and away from crimes, young people do not think outside the box and see what potentials they have. Thousands who graduate from various universities and colleges only hopes for white color jobs which are not easy to come by. To make the matter worse many young people depend so much on formal employment that they are not aware of the available resources and opportunities within their reach. A 2013 research by Jesuit Hakimani Center in Kenya established that there is laxity among the young people to embrace innovation and use of creativity in global competitive fields. The research further established that most of these young people attribute their lack of innovation to lack of funds.

Youth have a critical role to play in the implementation of Vision 2030. It is possible to achieve this agenda if the youth are empowered to think of positive alternatives. Training them to embrace positive attitude towards positive ways of dealing with social- economic issues in their local set-up will enable them to transform the positive innovative ideas to meaningful livelihood. They should be encouraged to design their own projects. They need a youth friendly platform where they can speak powerfully, take appropriate action which will result to economic empowerment and reduce unemployment.

Once this is done, the youth will not only create employment to their fellow young people but will also desist from being used as political tools to cause conflict and disrupt peace. They will not be used by drug balloons to vend illicit drugs they will not be risking imprisonment for crimes and early deaths for robbery and other inhuman acts. They will gain the ability and authority to make decisions and implement change in their lives and the lives of people around them. They will have the peace of both mind and soul. They will be able to heed to God’s call to serve Him when they are still young and energetic.

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent approximately 18 per cent of the global population, or nearly 1.2 billion people. Many youth remain marginalized from social and economic opportunities, with limited access to essential resources. Eighty-seven per cent of the youth population live in developing countries, and nearly 45 per cent of all youth globally living on less than 2 dollars a day. Youth are among the most vulnerable of all persons the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim to reach. Whether it is poverty, hunger, lack of education, maternal mortality, unemployment, environmental degradation or HIV/AIDS, the impact on young people can be far greater than on their older counterparts. This is because many young people often lack access to information, schooling, social influence and basic rights, and are often overlooked in national development agendas. Therefore, young people’s positive alternative thinking will go a long way in achieving the Millennium Development Goals which are crucial to ensure a successful and sustainable outcome. 

(Romans 12:2 “ Do not be conformed to this world,^[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”)