Abstract: Submission #63

Abstract South Africa has various government-led youth initiatives and institutions, including the National Youth Development Agency and the Presidential Youth Employment Service. Though this is the case, South African youth face various social and economic challenges in achieving their desired transitions from childhood into adulthood. These challenges include high unemployment, lack of economic opportunities, inadequate skills and training, and lack of work experience, and social capital. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 emphasizes the role of collaborations between governmental and non-governmental entities in meeting the SDGs. Community-based organizations act as grassroots organizations that are a product community to address the challenges experienced by local communities. Through the lens of the African philosophy of Ubudlelane, which fosters a culture of empathy, compassion, collaboration, and community support, the study examined the role of community-based organizations in youth development in QwaQwa. Data was collected through focus group discussions and open-ended interviews. Narrative analysis was used to analyse the data. The study found that youth are despondent regarding government agencies, as a result, they rely on community-based organizations to achieve their aspirations for adult transition. The study underscores the role played by community-based organizations in youth development in the face of despondency and apathy regarding government youth-led agencies and institutions. The study contributes to knowledge on how community development and social work professions can strengthen governmental and non-governmental entities' collaborations towards rural youth development.
Key words: Community-based organizations, Ubudlelane, youth transition aspirations, youth development, QwaQwa