My name is Grant Collop twenty-two years old. I attended Heideveld High school and Matriculated in 2017. Before I joined RLabs, due to Covid19, it was hard times because my mother and brother were the only sources of income as my dad is disabled and cannot work due to the virus being a risk as well. The last weekend on the 16th of March 2020, the company I worked for didn’t allow casuals to continue working, and I had to give my college fees to my parents to assist at home with buying food as my brother had to take care of the debt of the house. It wasn’t comfortable for me to lay at home and do nothing as I always want to be active and do something. I face my difficulties by praying to God every day, asking him to guide me and help me look for work and asking people I know.
I overcame the challenges I had by not giving up and having faith in moving forward because there is always light at the end of the tunnel and must always be strong.
The Yes program has impacted my life for this short period in many ways. I’ve never worked for a company where everyone is friendly and would assist you and make you feel extremely comfortable. It feels like another home. Everyone is treated equal and not being judged by the way you dress or look.
I see life as an opportunity to go for what you want. Doesn’t matter how small it is because you never know the outcome of your idea and how much lives it can impact as well.
I’ve learned and discovered a lot. For example, Google Drive, I never knew how to use it or what to do with it. But if asked, I could design an invitation for different events, online applications and use google sheets as well and the different ways you can turn columns into data. I never thought or heard of figma.com, but now I can analyze data as well. I still explore it day by day. I’ve discovered many things like Zlto where you can earn points and receive essential goods you might need by doing a task and then trade it in for electricity coupons for the house depending on what you need.
The journey has been exciting, meeting different people who have unique skills and backgrounds. Every day I wake up ready to learn and gain a new experience that I didn’t know I am capable of doing or have inside of me. I love technology and computers and find them very interesting.
The main highlight I had was when I had to do a presentation in front of everyone. I was calm and nervous as it was in front of the whole company, but it went well as I kept calm to break the ice with a joke to get it flowing.
RLabs is my fourth workplace. With the income, I can make things better at home by helping my parents to save money as well for emergencies. It also helps me so that I can save for myself for emergencies as well and to spoil myself when I feel it’s a need to but not regularly but occasionally.
The best advice I can give for unemployed youth is:
always have faith and lift your head because your blessings are coming and you have to be strong to survive. Make sure you have faith and pray about the troubles you are going through because everything can change from bad to good for you.
