TSUMEB: Carlos Leonard, a young entrepreneur from Tsumeb, has embarked on a mission to support and educate the local youth through a feeding programme.

The 26-year-old Leonard told Nampa he started the non-profit organisation called ‘Joel Parks’ this year to provide free meals to unemployed youth, including those living on the streets, and to educate them on food production.

He said his team feeds 30 to 50 unemployed youth daily. The meals are followed by a counselling and education session focusing on the importance of basic food production, recycling, and waste management.

‘Education on an empty stomach does not work, so we want to teach them how to produce their own food so that they can sustain themselves throughout their lives. We mentor and coach them so that they can become the best version of themselves,’ he said.

Leonard said his passion is fuelled by the high unemployment rate in Tsumeb, with many graduates and school dropouts finding themselves on the streets. The dropout rate is attributed to
factors like teenage pregnancy and a high failure rate, which in turn contribute to increased crime and substance abuse.

The programme runs from Monday to Friday and relies on donations from various families and companies. In return, supporters receive seedlings and are educated on backyard gardening.

Leonard called on all unemployed individuals in Tsumeb who are passionate about food production to reach out to him so they can benefit from the programme. He also said he is seeking potential sponsors so he can continue feeding the unemployed youth.

Leonard works closely with Corne Thalwitzer.

‘We are trying to make an impact by feeding the youth and cleaning the environment because everybody in this country is focused on making money without focusing on the leaders of tomorrow, who are the youth,’ Thalwitzer said.

He commented that the education system should incorporate different elements to help young people thrive.

‘Our schooling system focuses on teaching our children things that are not going to app
ly in their lives,’ he said.

One of the beneficiaries, Ezekiel Kakuva, a graduate from NIMT, is planning on becoming a farmer as he said he has learned a lot through Joel Parks.

‘I believe in this project because it has a positive impact. Farming is close to my heart so I am going to focus on it because I have been equipped with the skills I needed to start,’ said Kakuva.

Mariam Neibes thanked Leonard and his team for coming up with the programme.

She is currently seeking employment and resides with 16 housemates.

‘I am very pleased with the soup kitchen because it gives us the courage to learn new skills such as seeding, harvesting and how to make compost out of kitchen waste. They also taught me to be strong and proactive so that I can get what I want in life,’ Neibes said.

Neibes plans to apply for a piece of land where she wants to start a garden and grow fruit.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

A man who posed as a teenager to lure under-age girls to a chat group where child pornography was distributed and shared, is amongst three Child Online Sexual predators arrested in a joint operation by the SAPS Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) unit.

The USA Department of Homelands Security was also involved in the arrest in the past week.

This brings to total the number of Child Online Sexual Predators that have been arrested since November to seven.

The other four were arrested in November last year. Three were arrested in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal.

These arrests form part of an international operation to trace manufacturers, users and distributors of child pornography.

The three suspects were arrested in Worcester, Kraaifontein and Mitchell’s Plain.

A 53-year-old man from Worcester was the first to be arrested on Wednesday, 17 January 2024. He has so far been found with 95 000 images and 6 000 videos of child pornogrpahy. He faces a charge of accessing, distributing and posses
sion of child pornography.

The second suspect, a 40-year-old man was arrested in Kraaifontein on Thursday.

In his possession, he was found with more than 149 000 pictures of child pornography as well as more than 5 000 videos.

He was found in possession of two unlicensed firearms and various calibre of ammunition, as well as nine snakes of which three did not have a permit. He is facing charges of possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, possession, distribution and accessing of child pornography.

A 32-year-old man from Mitchell’s Plan was the third suspect to be arrested on Friday.

He was found to be chatting and luring under-age girls on a chat group where nude pictures where exchanged.

All suspects appeared before various courts such as Worcester, Kraaifontein and Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court where their cases were postponed for further investigation.

This operation would not have been a successful without the following role players, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of WC, NPA,
Cape Nature, and SPCA.

Below are a few tips for parents:

??Monitor the devices and social media accounts of your children to ensure they don’t fall prey to such crimes.

??Install parental control software and apps that can identify and block harmful content in chats, forms and other internet communication tools.

?? Advise children not to respond to messages or emails from strangers.

?? Never upload sexually suggestive images of yourself to the internet.

?? Never reveal personal information about yourself, including where you stay or which school you go to, to an online friend.

??Never agree to meet a stranger in private.

?? Inform an adult or call 0860010111 to report any incident that makes you feel uncomfortable

Source: South African Government News Agency