Osborn Motlhabane

Osborn Motlhabane is a committed community activist and positive change agent who aims to free young people from the yoke of drug abuse

Osborn Motlhabane is the founder of Bloemfontein Botshabelo Thaba Nchu (BBT) Radio Station and former community radio station Motheo FM presenter. He has a unique passion for helping vulnerable youth.
Motlhabane has formed the Haraambe Youth Network, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which helps young drug addicts access self-help and empowerment programmes. The NGO conducts awareness seminars and workshops aimed at dissuading the youth from getting involved in drugs.

Who is Osborn Motlhabane?
Osborn is the second born of the four sons in the Motlhabane family. I’m a son of a pastor; therefore I grew up in a Christian family. I am community builder and social activist; and currently a director at Haraambe Youth Network.

What prompted you to establish the Haraambe Youth Network?
My passion for young people; a strong desire to see individuals living to the maximum of their God-given potential and I also want to see them living free of the yoke of unemployment, depression, anxiety, peer pressure and ignorance.

What are you hoping to achieve with this imitative?
My only hope is to free our society from drugs and all the mischiefs associated with it. We want to create a society free of drugs and crime. We want children to grow in a healthy environment and protected from harm and negligence.

Explain the challenges or limitations you encounter in your line of work.
Sometimes it’s difficult to have people sharing the same sentiments and vision as you; both internally and external.

You see the way stakeholders carry themselves differs from the vision and the mission of the organisation. In saying that, I am referring to the internal part.
With the external side I am referring to the funding agency; you know it’s difficult for one to change how they run things in terms of what they require.

Another challenge is the community; people will not tell you who the drug lords are and who’s giving their children drugs. The community cannot stand together and fight that.
This is happening mostly in the local township, Heidedal. There’s been an allegation that, in a recent community forum at Heidedal, it was revealed that there is a senior police officer that is cooperating with the drug lords.

What does it take to do what you are doing?
Love for people and resilience. One cannot survive in this industry if they are not passionate.
I am happy with what I’m doing, it fulfils my heart. In this industry, there are times when you go on without funding and the only thing that keeps you going is passion and resilience.

Are you confident that Haraambe Youth Network is making an impact in the war against drug abuse?
Most definitely, I believe there’s hope. If we can get more resources we could be far from where we are today. It would be difficult to point out the tangible milestones achieved. We are still at an infant stage, so honestly it would be difficult to point out the highlights at this stage.

If you were not doing what you are doing currently, what would you be doing?
I would be preaching the message of hope and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ from Cape to Cairo. I mean, I grew up in a Christian family; my parents instilled the importance of religion in me.

Generally what can you say are the contemporary challenges facing the youth today?
You see our lives are different from the previous years.
Let me make a practical example: In 1976, young people stood up and fought against apartheid. As for the youth of today, they expect things to fall like ‘manna from heaven’.

They don’t have the fighting spirit. Over and above, they have a very poor self-image, they lack self-drive and motivation.

They think that things will just happen without hard-work and self-sacrifice. It saddens me to see the youth wasting their precious time on drugs.
The spirit of consumerism has taken over; the issue of the Skhothane mentality has gone into the heads of many young people. They have practically lost their self-identity.

Young people are trying to find themselves in materialism simply because they think it defines them. They don’t volunteer; they expect things to happen without putting any effort.

Would you say the youth appreciate or understand the role they have to play in society?
No, I think young people have unrealistic expectations. They believe government must do things for them. They are frustrated from unmet expectations.