By Chol Peter Majoh
Quite certainly, I am sure, many of us are well aware or informed of what’s frivolously happening here in Juba and all over the Country with young people, teenagers moreover. Unlike in the past, around 2013-2016, our young people, teenagers, were not as they are currently today. Many of these young people are now pursuing things that are ruining and harmful to them.
Sadly, they disregard things which are helpfully able to elevate them. Yes! Majority of them have started drinking, smoking and sexually abusing themselves.
Parents to these Young teenagers are perplexed and overwhelmed by these new developments in their children. Event when you advise some of them, they don’t listen. Some are not even staying with their parents or guardians. To make the matter worse, this life of theirs is contagious, spreading rapidly amongst themselves.
Government has to involve in laws making that will be able to help parents in controlling these wild children.
In Bor, the security organs last year launched an operation to deal with them in order to reduce most of the crimes associated to the activities of young people. In Juba, also last year, I read in the newspaper that police issued a statement that Torontos shouldn’t be mobbed but brought to justice. Torontos are also among the people this appeal goes to.
And aside what the government doing, I still urge it to advance its plan on how to curb crimes committed by young people. The teenage life has not only been a threat to other people, but also to themselves. I heard they even cut themselves with pangas. And I am told that there are amongst them who have guns.
Under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, they carry out those awkward things. If they are not handled as earlier as now, I think they would upgrade from just being unruly children to gangs which may later bring the country to unrest.
Today, at my writing capacity because it’s the only tool I possess at the moment, I want to try speaking out to them if they may understand me. If I may reach them by echoing out some few words, I will feel like I have done my part as concerned and God’s will citizen.
If you have a teenager at home with you who is suffering from this mental disorder, yes, I believe that’s a disorder, please take this paper home and let him or her read it, or you go and read for him or her. That’s for you as a concerned parent or guardian of his or her wellbeing.
In my heart, I appreciate the role you are playing in young people as a parent. A success Nation comes from a successful household. Meanwhile a successful household is what the heads of the families make.
Therefore, I urge you to continue training your children in a way they should go; And that your now influence upon them, shall be a benefit to the entire nation later. Well-trained today’s children will make a well-trained tomorrow’s leaders and Citizens. For those children who are out of your control, no blame is to be placed upon you for that had you tried all your best, but you don’t need to give up on them. Keep giving advisory services to them. There are so many things that influence those kinds of Children, for that matter of fact, you are not to be blamed.
Today, young people get spoiled from the influences they get online, in their phones, from peers, and from the Environment outside home. So, parents are not to be much blame.
However, there are irresponsible parents responsible for the misconducts of their children. These parents, I urge you to wake up from the slumber and start training your children. Advise them. If you can’t, the street takes your role and advise them immorally and you will be the very one to experience the consequences. Please, take up your roles.
Dear young people, I have a message for you. I love you and I need to tell you that God loves you too. I want to make it vivid to you that God has a designed purpose for you and your life. This purpose drugs do not have it, sex doesn’t have, robbery and all form of crime do not. To discover this purpose, you need be sober and future oriented and minded.
As your brother, I want to tell you that you are seeking pleasure in things that do not have it. As you are doing all these activities such as drinking, gambling, robbery, stealing pickpocketing, sexual abuse, and abuse of other drugs, you are ruining your future. No one else is going to suffer the consequences of those you are doing, but you. So, you need to be cautious.
Here’s what the Lord says. Hear what He tells you and you will find rest.
“For I know the plans that I have for you”, said the LORD, “plans of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected future and hope” (NKJV Jeremiah 29:11)
See how wonderful God loves you. He needs you to tomorrow have a good family, children, home. It’s not his will that you die of drug abuse.
I am not a pastor as you may think, but just an ordinary person as you are. I am struggling in life as do you. I know what it means to be a youth raised in a country like South Sudan. I know how it feels like, because it’s my experience, to come from unprivileged family. All these can lead us to a useless life, life undefined and without a purpose, but we don’t need to be so. Out bad situation germinates good life. I want to tell you, out of your now life, your future is able to spring.
Your dreams:
I know you are aspiring to have a better future, better house, wife, children and better old age. These are things you should now begin to look after. There’s happiness in toiling for your dreams to come true. And there’s no other time ahead to grasp that happiness than now. Give up all unreasonable things and start to be a responsible teenage who is able to put a smile on your mum’s face. Yes, someone people will be proud of. This is not a miracle hard to perform, it’s just a matter of going into yourself, cultivate positivity and unleash the hidden abilities for your success. Refrain from bad peers and start being yourself, the real you.
Be the hope that our nation needs.
For any inquiry, reach the author via email address: cholpetermajo@gmail.com,
Cell: +211(0)922295373.