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Vaidah Mashangwa
DESPITE the high number of youths getting married unprepared nowadays, we cannot and should not give up on God’s children and as long as there is hope then a solution exists and where there is a will there is a way. We cannot let modernism or the mainstream media take away the essential and

crucial role of parental or life coaching necessary to bring up our children.

The main reason why today’s youth are lost in worldly ways is because of one main reason: THE LACK OF GUIDANCE FROM PARENTS, ELDERS OR GUARDIANS. The main reason for this is that people over the last three decades have become “busy”. Busy has a wide range of meanings, commonly: Out with friends drinking, being on WhatsApp, cheating, working excessively in the office, or just a clear conscientious decision not to spend time with family.

Once any parent or guardian spends little time with their child they are permitting anything to raise them and occupy their time be it the social media (magazines, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, movies, international/DSTV channels (E! Entertainment, MTV, BET, Channel O), friends, peer pressure, their role models or just relying on their own impulses/hormonal desires.

One sometimes wonders where the parents are when one comes across headlines in newspapers like “School pupils caught having an orgy” etcetera.

There is clearly something missing and proactive action should be taken to rectify this chronic scenario. Where are the parents when children come back home in the morning after a drinking spree?

As one acquaintance said “Do not focus on the problem but rather the solution”, and the solutions in this case comprise of: encouraging outdoor activities; promoting healthier lifestyle patterns; increasing STD, HIV/Aids awareness and making it a compulsory course to be taught in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions; installing security codes for television channels and the internet; being observant to what children listen to; revising children’s WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat and Viber accounts; avoiding youths house visits; parents and guardians spending more time with their children; construct pastime structures, installations and encouraging a healthy social lifestyle.

The Holy Bible clearly states that an idle mind is the devils workshop and for youths with ample free time then the devil may as well just live with them!

Through encouraging outdoor activities, healthier lifestyles and social patterns like sports, hiking, joining the Rotaract and Interact or some other positive youth club, a lot of time that could have been spent mischievously becomes beneficial and contributory to their growth. For those with money constructing a pool, tennis, volleyball or basketball court and organising family hiking trips or outdoor excursions would help immensely. These could be co-ordinated with other families as well.

In increasing STD or HIV/Aids awareness in high schools, colleges and universities and making it a compulsory course inclusive within the academic curricula, sexual activity or experimentation, promiscuity, teenage and unwanted or unplanned pregnancies can be reduced and the use of protection and going for free HIV Testing at New Start Centres is encouraged. Knowledge is power and cautiousness is a great value.

A general curiosity around sexual activity usually arises from what the youth see and listen to which is why installing security codes for television channels and the internet would be a great solution to prevent continuous and easy access to harmful material and also taking time to listen to the music the youth or children listen to for better comprehension of what they enjoy doing, believe in or captures their attention and interest.

One of the most influential social platforms ever created since the existence of man are WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber and WeChat. WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users and according to eBizMBA Rank, Facebook has 900 million visitors monthly. The amount of information or data (messages, videos and voices notes) that is transferred is enormous and of a variety of content among which pornographic or sexual content can be found. The same applies with the other social platforms. A lot of time nowadays is spent on social media accessible on mobile phones, tablets and computers, be it for business, pleasure, or for our relationships and so a lot goes on and is shared.

It is not right to permit children to claim that access to their WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber and WeChat accounts is a violation of their privacy. That claim I believe should only be made when they attain the Zimbabwean court certified age of adulthood which is 18 years. As long as they are below 18 then they are children and should be monitored and raised accordingly.

As parents or guardians spend less time with children or youth the values of being a man and woman are not taught adequately. These include basic life principles like responsibility, honesty, integrity, respect, humbleness, patience, honour, accountability, the importance and value of house chores (cooking, gardening, cleaning, basic electric work), going to church and abiding by what is taught there. It is important that the youth are fully taught about these values so that their life as adults, future parents and spouses runs smoothly.

A certain daily, Tuesday July 21, 2015, had a headline titled “1,102 divorce applications submitted”. One wonders how we got here, but when we make an objective assessment of the principal causes of the current status quo the reasons are pretty much clear.

More attention should be given to prepare the younger generation for marriage or we will soon be part of infamous global statistics like American marriages that only have a 50 percent chance of being a success.

• Vaidah Mashangwa is the Provincial Development Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development for Bulawayo. She can be contacted on 0772111592 or e-mail: [email protected].