Many people in Southern Africa rely on the talents and skills they have learned over the years from their parents and grandparents to thrive and provide a livelihood for themselves and their families. Although having these skills is considered a norm in our African communities, very few people comprehend that such skill-sets are a beneficial necessity for a man, woman and child in these parts of the world to survive the harsh economic and political hardships that might behold them in the present and the future.
Due to the inaccessibility of basic level education, a result of political administrational location and other circumstance beyond control, many Africans embrace unskilled and semi-skilled labour to ensure they are able to provide basic needs, such as shelter, water and food, for themselves and their families.
With the dwindling opportunities in both secondary and tertiary education and scarce opportunities for professional employment, various populations highly rely on the skills they possess in order to enable themselves to survive and provide hope for their siblings, spouses and dependants They rely on their acquired acumen, observed entrepreneurial skills and circumstance in order to do jobs that can bring a dollar or more to save, eat and spare a little for their own luxuries.
Most individuals in Southern Africa rely on their physical strengths and acquired skills to run small projects and businesses that help support themselves and their families. Occupied and entrepreneurial entities such as carpentry, metal fabrication, welding, farming, trading, and crafts, are very important to ensuring the well being of these people. They rely on such self-created opportunities because they are aware of the status quo of the employment and stable job opportunities that exist.
There are often many people in these areas of work because they have little or no educational opportunities and cannot afford to step foot into a classroom. Hence, all they have to survive is their physical ability and acquired skills. This is how best they know to survive.
Although on paper statistics show that there is progressive improvement on such issues and that the Millennium Development Goals related to such issues are being achieved, the reality on the ground is still bleak and cannot be turned around in one presidential or prudential year. It will take time — a work in progress. That is why one of the solutions is to strengthen the entrepreneurial and self-dependability of populations fighting and providing for themselves. However, this will not be achieved when many of the fisher men and women, carpenters, farmers and marketers and others alike are not able to carry out their entrepreneurial activities.
With health challenges such as malaria, diarrhea, AIDS, and tuberculosis affecting families, it is difficult to concentrate on making ends meet when one needs to take care of sick family and friends. Such diseases will also affect an individual who depends on physical strength to work and strive for a better living and life.
Not only do health challenges affect people at a personal level, but they also affect a nation’s development and growth. Work sectors such mines, manufacturing industries and quarries, will not efficiently produce maximum products for sell and export. Additionally, commercial farms that rely on human labour to harvest their crop will be late on their seasonal produce, causing spoiled yields and rise in consumer prices of farm products due to high demand and low supply, ultimately leading to hunger.
Without good health, we cannot work, we cannot go to school and we cannot feed or provide shelter for ourselves and our families.
Better health is of paramount importance for the people of Southern Africa to convert their dreams into reality, develop their communities, countries and regions at large and have a better fighting chance to contribute positively to the entire African continent.