DOWNLOAD Article

AspireYouth: Personalised pathways from trauma to enterprise

Aspire Youth in Cape Town offers one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of genuinely personalised economic empowerment. Their work is rooted in a simple but powerful insight:

“Economic opportunity only lasts if a young person is emotionally and psychologically ready to sustain it.”

Unlike many programmes that focus on short skills courses or entrepreneurship workshops, Aspire insists on holding mental health, trauma, safety, skills and income together in one integrated journey.
Unlike many programmes that focus on short skills courses or entrepreneurship workshops, Aspire insists on holding mental health, trauma, safety, skills and income together in one integrated journey. What struck me most during my visit was something Roslin (Ros) Falatsa, Aspire Programme Lead said:

“From Fit for Life, to incubation, to launch, you are adapting to the individual’s situation, their needs, their passion, their skills. And you’re not abandoning them.”

That refusal to “abandon” young people is what makes Aspire distinctive in my view.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE