GEORGE NEWS - As unemployment continues to rise and the number of young people who languish the streets of this country begging for jobs keeps increasing, one young man from Lawaaikamp refuses to become another statistic. Sipho Jacobs (23), has started a business washing takkies.

According to Stats SA, South Africa's unemployment rate is high for both youth and adults; however, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 34 was 38,2%. 

This means that more than one in every three young people in the labour force did not have a job in the first quarter of 2018. Many have become discouraged and have given up, some resorting to unfavourable activities such as robbery and drug dealing.

Then there are people like Jacobs. He refuses to follow the lifestyle of criminals and has found a creative way of keeping bread on the table.

"One day, I was watching TV with my grandmother and saw a young guy showing telling how he started his own business and kept it growing. I never thought washing other people's takkies could make a good business, but that guy convinced me that one needs to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of poverty. I then started this idea of washing takkies from my home, because I knew from my own experience that people love to wear sneakers but don't like to wash them. This business is about offering a rare service to the people and helping them out with a burden. My business is also about inspiring young people to get up and start their own business, not to wait for people or government to give them handouts. You don't have to get a degree. There are many ways you can improve your life, you just have to believe in yourself," said Jacobs.

Jacobs dreams of expanding his business throughout the Southern Cape. He is currently operating from his home in Lawaaikamp and can be contacted on 071 786 8149.

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