Cambridge Youth Society

COLLABORATING TO TRANSFORM LIVES.

Cambridge Youth Society, or CYS, consists of young community members from Cambridge Village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Initially established in 2013, CYS became a registered non-profit in 2014.

In the aftermath of a tragic crime scene, where five individuals met a horrific fate at the hands of enraged community members, a remarkable collective emerged.

heir initial focus involved organising regular gatherings to address the pressing challenges faced by the community of Cambridge. Undertaking a comprehensive household survey became their first initiative, aiming to identify the specific hardships experienced by each family.

During this process, they stumbled upon a decomposed body in one of the shacks — an unsettling discovery among the many obstacles unearthed through the survey.

What sets the board of this organisation apart is their unwavering dedication and passion for making a positive impact in the Cambridge area. Driven by a profound desire to combat poverty and reverse the decline of the social landscape, these individuals form a steadfast group, united in their mission.

Cambridge Youth Society currently consists of 7 serving Board Members, 12 Management Committee Members, and 58 volunteers from the community, all of whom are working tirelessly to improve the lives of many.

A hopeful and determined group of individuals, CYS is committed to combating poverty, and addressing the many challenges their community faces.

COMMUNITY CHALLENGES

Many of the challenges in the community stems from the long-lasting effects of apartheid — a system of legislation that upheld segregation against non-white citizens of South Africa from 1948 to 1994. The community is faced with struggles of:

  • Gender based violence

  • Substance abuse

  • Crime

  • School dropouts

  • High rates of teenage pregnancy

  • Child marriages

  • Elderly people taking medication on empty stomachs

  • Child-headed homes

  • Unemployment 

  • Insufficient incomes 

  • Abandoned elderly and disabled people 

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

  • Lack of access to menstrual products for women and young girls

Our Mission:

To build our community through skills development so that we can work towards sustainable job creation and address the many challenges our community faces.

Our Vision:

To foster a skilled community where everyone has equal employment opportunities so that they have financial security and self-sustaining futures.

Since forming Cambridge Youth Society, the community has made considerable progress, including:

  • Starting a vegetable garden to create sustainable job opportunities for the community and provide access to fresh, organic vegetables.

  • Building Community Nutrition Centres to provide bread and soup to the residents of Cambridge and surrounding areas 3 times a week.

  • Implementing sewing classes for women and traditional dance and sport activities for the youth.

  • Helping the youth in developing CV’s, writing emails, scanning documents, applying for SARS Tax Certificates, and registering cooperatives.

  • Starting sports training, recreational activities, and homework assistance for children. 

  • Introducing boxing, soccer, and other sports training for boys.

  • Implementing after school programmes for children.

  • Developing a pig farm to generate income and develop skills in pig farming.

  • Reducing the crime rate from 87% to 16%.

  • Helping many people in the community obtain Birth Certificates and ID’s through the Department of Home Affairs.

  • Starting awareness campaigns, including a cleaning awareness campaign, which focused on cleaning up the village’s dumping grounds. 

  • Establishing working relationships with: the Department of Social Development, Health and Welfare SETA, Inyama Kunye (PTY) LTD, Unathi High School, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Community Development Forum, and Letsema Circle Trust.

THE DANDELION PHILOSOPHY’S COLLABORATION WITH CYS - “CAMBRIDGE COLLECTIVE”

The Dandelion Philosophy has adopted Cambridge community as its primary focus for 2023. Together with Cambridge Youth Society, and training and support from our specialist partners, we have developed the “Cambridge Collective”, which aims to empower new local businesses, creating a self-sufficient, sustainable community.

We wholeheartedly embrace a holistic approach that exceeds the investment of time in understanding the distinct difficulties faced by the Cambridge community. We take pride in crafting customised interventions that directly address these challenges. We forge relationships built on trust, solidarity, and collaboration with CYS and the entire community, supporting their unique initiatives while also joining forces to introduce our own projects directly addressing their needs. 

Through our dedicated efforts in bridging the resource gap, our ultimate aim is to empower the community, cultivating a foundation of long-term sustainability and effectively dismantling the cycle of poverty. We accomplish this by emphasising entrepreneurship and fostering skills development, enabling individuals to harness their potential and thrive in the face of challenges.

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The Cambridge Collective aims to: 

  • Deploy “Empower Pods” and establish bakeries in the community to provide nutritional support to the 10, 000 residents and provide job opportunities for residents to become paid bakers and feeders. 

  • Implement a sustainable and regenerative farming model, with the help from our partners at Vertical and Micro Gardening (VMG),  that will increase the yield of produce and create food security for the community whilst teaching residents to become farmers. 

  • Provide education and skills development to empower the community with employable skills and the opportunity to become paid workers in various fields — feeders, bakers, container refurbishes, farmers, health and safety inspectors, or security staff.

  • Empower new local businesses through our “Healing Hub”, so that we can create a self-sufficient, sustainable community.