Image: NYS participant Ms. Nyameka Chiya empowers a rural KwaZulu-Natal community through education support, food gardening, and digital skills development.

This Youth Month, the story of Ms. Nyameka Chiya is a reminder that young people have the power to transform our communities when given the opportunity. Nyameka is a participant in the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) National Youth Service (NYS) programme, which is coordinated by the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, a business unit of the National Research Foundation (NRF-SAASTA).

As a young child she lived in a rural community in Kwa-Zulu Natal where she was raised by her grandmother, before moving to live with her mother in an area where she had the privilege of better schools and more opportunities. Her early years in the rurals became a passion for the land when she was introduced to agricultural subjects in Grade 10, shaping her future studies in Agricultural Sciences. Nyameka graduated from the University of Mpumalanga with an Honours degree.

After joining NYS, she was placed as a teaching assistant at a primary school in deep rural Kwa-Zulu Natal. Driven by a desire to make a difference even beyond the classroom, Nyameka has since gone beyond the role that she was assigned in NYS.
She has put the knowledge and skills she learned as an Agricultural Sciences graduate to excellent use by reviving the school’s vegetable garden which feeds the learners and helping local families establish backyard food gardens. In addition to the teaching and agriculture, she is a tech support for a local ICT project where she assists young people with online job applications and CV development. “In the deep rurals, teaching staff is very limited. So, the NYS team assist where we can. Where we see there’s a shortage, we go there and we help,” Nyameka says.

What started as a passion for agriculture has grown into a community-driven project that improves food security while transferring valuable skills to learners and residents. Her impact has been so significant that her placement was extended by the DSTI, allowing the project she started to become sustainable.

Reflecting on her journey, Nyameka describes the programme as “one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences” of her life. She encourages young graduates to take advantage of opportunities such as the NYS Programme, saying they provide an important bridge between education and the world of work. “I started applying for these types of opportunities while I was still studying, and on the day of my graduation I was interviewed as a shortlisted candidate for NYS.”
Her message to South Africa’s youth is simple yet powerful: “Occupy space. No space is out of your league. With the right information, you can literally shake rooms.”