Can we meet you?
I am Christopher Christian Seagateng. I am 33 years old, a citizen of Botswana. My hobbies are reading, writing, dancing, singing and travelling.
Tell us briefly your childhood experience.
Growing up, I was always fascinated by people around me who brought change even in its smallest form. This developed in me a yearning to drive change as I started to question uncommon occurrences in my community. It was inevitable that my career path would lead me to youth empowerment activism and leadership where I enjoy bringing out the best from young people whilst I gain growth from their personal experience. As the first child in a family of five, I learnt to take the lead and charge of my siblings at a tender age, something I believe gave me a competitive edge to be a role model to them.
What’s your educational background?
For my primary school, I attended Tau Manthe Primary School. I began my secondary school education at Ledumadumane Junior Secondary School and completed it at St.Joseph’s College. I hold a BA(Hons) in Broadcasting and Journalism from the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.
What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?
As a university student, I watched across the length and breadth of my country Botswana, from village to cities and communities, young people graduating each year from different institutions with different qualifications, looking for signs of hope, a glimmer of possibilities that will transform their lives. They looked for avenues to extend their careers as they dwell in the job market, but alas another year, two and even more went by as the majority got consumed with their usual disappointment in what became an annual ritual of going to tertiary “joblessness”. A customary cloud of despair and melancholy hanged over the nation as young graduates settled back into the suffering reality of their impoverished lives due to unemployment.
In 2012, I co-founded Botswana Jobs for Graduates to address the escalating unemployment issues among graduates in my country. It became clear to us that our education system was not sufficiently preparing school leavers for the world of work in terms of skills, attitudes and/or expectations. There was a severe mismatch between young graduates and the world of work.
Taking advantage of Facebook, we started as an online initiative to help graduates who did not have money to buy newspapers or travel to notice boards to access opportunities. As an organization, our mandate is:
•To facilitate youth in using their skills for the future jobs and sustaining jobs once employed
•To prepare young people for the evolving labor market
•To Encourage and strengthen networks and cooperation between youth, employers and stakeholders in the delivery of youth employment creation services •
•To increase knowledge and skills of young people on employment possibilities/entrepreneurship and shore up the youth in entering the labor market, by means of work training workshops/seminars, career fairs and capacity building for youth.
What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?
I engaged with various stakeholders such as institutions of learning, government, private, HR Managers, Professionals, Fellow Youth leaders and parents etc. They assisted in shaping the vision.
What have been your achievements?
The initiative has assisted over 12,000 young people with job placements/ employment opportunities since inception with over 180,000 trained in job readiness skills through the Tuesday Employment Enhancement seminars.
Our work has been won the following awards:
i. 2013:2nd Position ILO World Video Competition on Youth
ii. 2016-2019:1st Position- Best Youth Based Organization for 4 years in a row during the Botswana Human Resource Council Fair
iii. 2017: Best Organization supporting Youth Development by Botswana Youth Awards
What motivated you to do what you are doing?
I wanted to channel my energy in being the change I anticipate.
What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?
Funding has been the biggest issue to implement our programs and retain human capital.
How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?
Through grants, fundraising activities and from individuals who support our cause.
Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?
Through our consistency in training young people on jobs for the future, I was appointed as board member of Botswana National Youth Council in 2015 to 2018 and for the second term 2019-2022. My role on the board includes advising the government on all matters pertaining to youth employment, advocating for the interest of young people on matters of policy, legislation and socio-economic development on employability, coordinating exchange of youth employment information and facilitating consultation among young people etc. This has been one of the best experiences as I continue growing in leadership and government through interacting with various actors both locally, regionally and internationally.
What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?
I aspire to lead the establishment of youth employment centers across the country that will facilitate job readiness skills training, avail job opportunities, create think tank spaces to provide entrepreneurship development for youths. My vision is to have at least four fully functional centers within 10 years that will also act as one stop shop, providing interaction with jobseekers and employers with a database that will connect both. I look forward to making Botswana Jobs for Graduates a national project where everyone from individuals to government and private stakeholders will join hands in job creation particularly in rural areas to prevent migration of youths from villages to cities in search of employment.
There are many untapped job creation opportunities in rural areas that can be taken advantage of. My short term goal is to have Youth Employment Ambassadors in 57 constituencies that will act as a link between youths, stakeholders and employers of labor. The same model will be adopted to have ambassadors in universities to bridge the gap between the academic and world of work.
What do you think is the major cause of unemployment in Africa, and how can we get over this?
Corruption has prevented our leaders from leveraging on the potentials in our continent for the good of its citizens. We need to elect into office who can deliver on their leadership promises and hold them accountable.
If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message.
Presidents in Africa have to begin to pay attention to its young population and work to create the right environment for them thrive.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Keep up the good work.
It is my pleasure.
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