South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Aluong Maker Aluong
A university student on Tuesday urged jobless youth to venture into small businesses for their sustenance.
Joseph Jodri, a student at the University of Juba who runs a photocopying centre at the Western campus, said that young people need to start businesses for their own benefit.
“I cannot advise someone to stay idle, even though you may not earn much from that business. Do that little to keep yourself busy; an idle mind is a devil’s workshop,” Jodri told Dawn in an interview on Wednesday.
Jodri explained that his printing and photocopying business, which he started in 2021, has been sustaining him.
He further elaborated that although he is not earning much from the business, he is able to support himself, including paying his tuition fees and feeding himself.
“It is through this little business that I could raise my tuition fees,” he said.
Jodri, who previously began his studies at Kampala University, Juba branch, before the shutdown, believes that youth should seek opportunities to create employment for themselves through small enterprises.
“It is idleness that often plunges South Sudanese into multiple atrocities, such as robbery, drug abuse, killing, and so forth.”
He believes that if young people keep themselves busy, these barbaric acts can be mitigated.
He advises South Sudanese to stay engaged if they want to transition from conflict to peaceful coexistence.
“Choosing to do something small for oneself that will at least keep you engaged is a personal responsibility, not a collective one,” he said.
