Something that I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around for a while now is the immense number of men I see every morning sitting on street corners waiting for someone to hire them for a job. A day, a week or whatever, all they want is to work. Not to rob, steal, murder or rape. To work. Yet I’ve struggled to come up with a solution to this problem. How does a single person make a difference? I can’t hire every one of these men. In fact, I don’t have any work for them at all.
Yet it seems that there is an organisation that is trying to make a difference. Here’s the press release:
Consider for a moment what you’re able to buy with R120. Perhaps a new T-shirt to add to the many in your cupboard, or a light lunch and cappuccino in a trendy restaurant?
Now, consider what R120 might mean for someone who has not worked for a week and has nothing else in their wallet. It may buy his family’s groceries or cover the costs of a year’s pre-school education.
So why not make a change this Workers Day and create a job to celebrate it.
‘Make South Africa Work’ is a campaign initiated by Men on the Side of the Road (MSR) to raise awareness about the need to create jobs and to encourage people to seize the initiative.
“MSR have declared the month of May the ‘Make South Africa Work Month’. We want to increase awareness of the plight of unemployed people and more importantly, to suggest ways you and I can help create jobs,” said Peter Kratz, National Director of MSR.
With unemployment at critical levels the MSR campaign aims to facilitate the placement of skilled and semi skilled workers in part-time or full-time work.
“We want South Africans to realize that it is possible for them to create work. In the month of May we want those who can to create a job for a day, a week, a month, or even permanently. Short term jobs can be created by hiring a MSR member to sort out all those DIY chores you’ve been putting off since last year, like clipping your overgrown hedge, cleaning out your garage or giving that tatty old fence a coat of paint,” said Kratz.
Groups of friends could hire workers to help them clean up their street or local park. Working together we can all make South Africa Work.
Launching the awareness campaign on Workers Day, MSR members will be marching peacefully through the streets of Cape Town. On the mornings of 30 April and 1 May, a poster campaign will take place at MSR pick-up points around the country (see below). Workers and supporters of job creation will wear a MSR yellow ribbon armband to show their support.
MSR makes it easy for you to hire a worker with their organised pick-up points and database of skilled and recommended labourers at a minimum wage of R120 for eight hours of work.
Kratz said: “Why not create meaningful employment for someone, spend a R120 in a way that empowers them and helps you too.”
Call 0861 WORKER (0861 967537), email info@employmen.co.za or visit www.employMen.co.za for more info.
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April 24th, 2010 at 11:33 am
http://www.eu2hell.blogspot.com
I am not sure which is more idiotic: to propose such naive and insane scheme in the first place, or to advertise it as an alternative to the ANC’s failed and universally chastised economic mis-programme.
When you have a buffoon as president, who bombastically entered office with the boast to “create 600,000 jobs within a year,” yet is responsible for a net loss of 340,000 jobs since taking office, how can a circle of friends create and sustain jobs with wages that allow workers to survive?
Think, before you wade into the quicksand of ignorance and naivite.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:04 am
I have came to your page from Yahoo and found it to have good advice. Thanks for this entry for first time home buyers. It really inspired me. I will tell this page to my friends who have also just bought a house. Thank you again!
May 23rd, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Nic
One can not be philosophical about unemployment or job creation . It is real it cuts to the very core of your being and can only be rectified by combination of hope and action.
I praise any effort in making a difference and want to challenge you to create cells of networks of unemployed people throughout South Africa that can as groups approach society for any form of employment and/or work.Do it with the same passion as with which one seeks employment and/or work and share the rewards with those in the group so that one is rewarded on a daily basis for not only looking for work but being productive and making a difference and being able to return to your home, family’s and responsibilities with something in hand and the knowledge that you are worth something for those you love, at least for that day! and then go out and repeat it every day you are given the gift of life and health!
God bless you and hope you will keep on reaching out to others around you.
Koos Botha
August 6th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I have just discussed this idea with my neighbour as we are both unemployed and he has a bakkie. How would we approach this kind of work with regards to pricing?
August 10th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Hi Wayne,
It’s a good point, I’m not sure.
I think it has a lot to do with being a go-between. Verifying skills and possibly taking a % of the fee. For example, if a painter charges R500 for a days work, you could possibly add on 20% to that and charge the client R600, leaving you with R100 and the painter with R500. This way if you can distribute work to 10 people in a day you make R100 a day and potentially R7000 a week if you work flat out 7 days a week which gives you ± R28000 a month if you work every day and distribute 10 people to work every day.
Just a thought off the top of my head.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:51 am
Simply one of the greatest posts that I have seen on this subject. I’m going to need to advocate your web-site to my friends.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:48 am
A single droplet of water can cause a ripple effect to it’s surrounding waters. You made an inspiring job creation initiative on individual level.