I have always believed in advocating for those whose voices are not heard, and have had a great passion for assisting those who cannot help themselves. That is why joining the UNICEF Volunteer Club at the University of the Western Cape was effortless for me, especially since I want to work with international organisations such as the United Nations to make a bigger impact in the lives of the disenfranchised.
The transition from being a debater to studying law was a natural one for me, as I aim to advocate for women and children on larger platforms. When I found out about the club through my alma mater, the University of the Western Cape, I did not give it a second thought, because it has always been a goal of mine since I was in high school to be part of an initiative that could help communities, especially children.
The club is one of around 20 UNICEF volunteer clubs on campuses across South Africa, where students give their time to their communities through education, healthy lifestyles, climate action, and ending violence against children.
In my role as Deputy Chairperson of my UNICEF campus club, I learnt valuable leadership and soft skills that proved essential not only during our collaboration with Bite Back for our Fix My Food initiative, but also during my clerkship as a candidate attorney. Fix My Food is UNICEF South Africa’s youth-led movement to fix the food environment children grow up in: the marketing, the pricing and the policies that decide what a child can realistically eat. As an aspiring advocate, the legislative aspect of the Fix My Food initiative not only taught me how to engage with legislation but also assisted me in deeply understanding how integral it is for lawmakers to remember who the laws they make affect and how much impact it has on people’s lives.
During my time as a volunteer, I had the privilege of voicing the concerns of students and volunteers alike to the Deputy Minister of Health at the National Nutrition Week commemoration, held at the University of the Western Cape in October 2024. Considering my end goal is to be on the global stage communicating with heads of state and their representatives, the initiative has become my stepping stone.
As a candidate attorney, I interact with legal practitioners, members of the public and presiding officers, advising, learning and arguing the law. The communication skills, people skills and leadership skills I learnt during my time as a volunteer have taught me how to confidently advocate for others.
With thanks to my studies at my university and my volunteering with UNICEF, I am now #WorkLifeReady.
Published for World Youth Skills Day. Through UNICEF South Africa’s Youth Volunteer Programme, Reitumetse and Osborn built the leadership, collaboration and human-rights advocacy skills that moved their #WorkLifeReady pathways forward. Reitumetse is starting out in the legal field, while Osborn is carving his way through people and culture management. Skills take young people far. When skills connect to opportunity, young people go even further. Read Osborn’s story here.
