‘BORN FREE’ DREAMS: SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP YOUTH DISCUSS THEIR HOPES FOR A BETTER LIFE IN FUTURE

‘Hope means it may or may not happen. In music there are notes that are high, and also those that
are low. If you tell yourself that you won’t reach the high note you may end up not reaching it,
because your mind has that limitation. That’s how I understand it.’
‘Life has its ups and downs, so you need hope.’
‘Hope lives in us. Without hope, it is the same thing as not living. Every day is made up of small hopes:
we sleep, and hope to wake up. Hope is something we need to have always.’
‘Without hope there is no future. You are “lifeless”. Even if it does not happen, hope will give you
courage that one day it will come true. You can’t control everything in life because nature controls it.
Having hope will pull you through.’
‘We expect things to be different because of hope.’
‘Hope encourages you to aim for a particular thing, to set up goals and time frames, so that you
achieve what you wish for.’

‘You need to make an effort. You can’t have expectations for what you have not worked for — ‘Hope means it may or may not happen. In music there are notes that are high, and also those that are low. If you tell yourself that you won’t reach the high note you may end up not reaching it, because your mind has that limitation. That’s how I understand it.’ ‘Life has its ups and downs, so you need hope.’ ‘Hope lives in us. Without hope, it is the same thing as not living. Every day is made up of small hopes: we sleep, and hope to wake up. Hope is something we need to have always.’ ‘Without hope there is no future. You are “lifeless”. Even if it does not happen, hope will give you courage that one day it will come true. You can’t control everything in life because nature controls it. Having hope will pull you through.’ ‘We expect things to be different because of hope.’ ‘Hope encourages you to aim for a particular thing, to set up goals and time frames, so that you achieve what you wish for.’ ‘You need to make an effort. You can’t have expectations for what you have not worked for

This Youth Day we’re looking forward to the publication of a new study conducted by Valerie Møller, Professor Emeritus in Quality of Life Studies at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University and Benjamin Roberts, Chief Research Specialist in the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) division at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and ISER associate Dalindebo Zani.

In focus group discussions, township youth living in Makhanda, a small university town in the country’s poorest Eastern Cape Province, had the opportunity to express what hopes they had for their future in the post-Covid-19 era and confirmed the important role of hope in their lives as a useful tool that motivated them to aspire to fulfil their dreams.

There was general consensus that hope was ‘a good thing’ and important.

Hope as a human trait. Some discussants described hope as essential for human well-being or as an intrinsically human trait.

Hope is helpful. Being hopeful was thought to motivate people to do their best to achieve their goals in life. Discussants often referred to the ‘push’, or ‘drive’, required to succeed in life – referred to as ‘agency’ according to the literature on hope.

Agency and pathways to make hopes come true. Discussants were adamant about the need for agency to realise hopes in life. Hope was no guarantee that dreams would come true.

Here is a recommendation from Prof Moller - LET YOUR HOPES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE HAPPINESS! Practice living your Better Future before it even exists.

Having survived the Covid-19 pandemic, we are boldly future-oriented, and societies worldwide are seeking to address the many problems facing the planet and the world's population that have been neglected during the past few years.

To carry out these tasks, we all need hope. Hope for future happiness and success in life has always been the prerogative of youth who have their lives before them. Given the challenges to well-being that the Coronavirus posed worldwide, happiness researchers recommend that policymaking should focus on boosting hope for a positive future, particularly for the youth.