By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
Building Reconciliation Together (BRT), founded by Ezekiel Mohale, is a ground-breaking initiative filled with young people with big dreams.
Born in 1991 and raised in the dusty streets of Mawa Village in Tzaneen, Limpopo, Ezekiel was already a dreamer in his primary school.
The father of two children Bokamoso (girl ) and Bokang (boy) is a particularly sensitive person when he sees people in pain.
“I always try to reach out and help, but due to lack of financial resources, I end up helping a few people with the little I have,” he said.
The BRT was founded when he was still in school in the North West. “l was still doing grade 9. It was then that I wandered the streets of Rusternburg and discovered that there are still people sleeping in lakes or open spaces.
“I asked them how they survive and they told me it was hard and difficult. They said they hid behind the walls and under the bridges when it was raining. It shattered my heart.
“During my studies, I was busy preparing suggestions and plans to help them. The BRT was discovered in 2009, but was re-established on March 27, 2013,” he said.
It was at this time that Ezekiel began moving to different provinces and helping various people with food parcels, sanitary towels and organized gender-based violence event.
The purpose of BRT, he says, is to work with the government in all nine provinces.
“Our aim is to use this organisation to create job opportunities, particularly in rural areas. Our biggest concern is that more people are leaving rural to urban areas seeking employment or education.
” As a result, this creates a large amount of congestion. Our people are overpopulating the cities and consequently producing uncontrollable crimes.
“But should we open more opportunities in various areas in rural areas, it will help even the parents who cannot afford to pay for accommodation for their children to learning institutions.
“So the BRT asks the government to help us in implementation of those facilities.Through BRT, we have more than 10 portfolios which can work with the government, namely, medical assistants,
teacher assistants,
Library assistants,
social work assistants,etc.
“These are our young people on the ground who volunteer to help our various communities. But I have to confess…we’re losing members because we’re not taken seriously,” he said.
In addition to the services they provide, these committed young people also canvas businesses for donations. Thanks to small funds, they are able to purchase sanitary pads, school uniforms and food packages.
They also do community work such as cleaning streets for sanitation. They also host GBV events, traditional events and other activities in various provinces around SA.
“We would love to expand and have our care centres where we will accommodate the poor , feed them, offer shelter and send them to school.
“The current challenge is the lack of office accommodation and office equipment. We currently do field work. We need transportation because it is expensive to move sanitary towels from one province to another. We’ve never been sponsored before, and that’s a tremendous challenge.
“The assistance that we need, even if it’s a second hand car… that can help a lot. We need a storeroom to help us keep sanitary towels safe. For now, we need to sleep with them in our rooms,” he said, adding that they will appreciate if they can be given an old building.
He is hopeful that the BRT will bring about a huge change if the government is willing to engage them.
He says that the BRT is expected to create over 200,000 jobs per province if the government considers listening to them.
“And we have portfolios that can be transferred to permanent jobs if we get support. All those things are planned in black and white. The good thing is that BRT is all over South Africa and not only in one province.
“And our portfolios are of those who will offload the duties of our government staff because our members will be on the ground creating database from the residents and submit to BRT office.
“The young people of South Africa will benefit greatly, as employment opportunities will be open to the ones with education and the ones without.”
His advice to young people is: ” Never give up on your dreams. l started this organisation using my own money. Even now, I’m still struggling, but because l have a dream of sheltering the nation am still standing,” concludes Ezekiel.
Reach him on 0799465073.
