The awards evening event was hosted by the Western Cape Youth Commission at the Creek Convention Centre in Stellenbosch recently.

A jubilant Mjenxane expressed his joy at receiving the award and he thanked SA National Parks for selecting hm on behalf of his team at work.

The Beyond Expectations project aims to expose young people to nature conservation and environmental awareness.

He said the project was initiated to keep the youth busy so that they can forget about crime and focus on their future.

“I also initiated this project because I’m currently working for Table mountain National Parks. We want to target youth from schools and the townships because that is where most people litter without taking note of the environment.” Mjenxane said.

In 2000 Mjenxane voluntarily joined the Pride of Table Mountain Project which was a Wilderness Leadership Foundation Course which equipped him with conservation skills

He now takes youth from the townships on environmental educational hikes on table Mountain, and also presents workshops on a variety of environmental subjects such as fynbos, alien plants and water preservation.

Mjenxane also won The Cape Times Caltex Award in the environmental youth category in 2003.

He stays with his mother and young brother in a four bedroomed house inVictoria Mxenge.”

The chairperson of the Westen Cape Youth Commission, Vincent Domingo, hailed Mjenxane, saying he was a man of great stamina, a visionary and a warrior of his time whose selfless mission was to serve others and contribute to the greater good of the country.

He urged the youth to follow in his footsteps.

Domiongo later concluded by saying, “We do not need the pleasure seeking, frivolous, dissolute, light minded type of youth. We need young men and women of high moral stamina integrity of courage and vision.”

• The Western Cape Youth Commission is to hold a youth crime resilience and awareness campaign titled “A safe Western Cape for all its Youth” starting second 2 December.

There will be a number of activities in three urban and one rural communities across the province over two weeks in December, in partnership with stakeholders focusing on building youth resilience to crime.

The campaign is intended to raise awareness amongst youth about the impact of crime, raise awareness about why youth should not become involved in crime, and mobilise young people to actively participate in fighting crime.