Did you know that South Africa observes Workers’ Day on 1 May as a public holiday? It’s one of several meaningful dates our Net Buddies celebrate at this time of year — and it carries particular weight for the Infinite Family community.
Workers’ Day, also known as International Labour Day, honours labourers and the working classes worldwide. In South Africa, the day carries special significance: it marks the struggle against apartheid-era labour exploitation and celebrates the vital role trade unions played in advancing democracy and fighting for workers’ rights.
At Infinite Family, Workers’ Day prompts us to reflect on a sobering reality: until relatively recently, the majority of South Africans were denied the freedom to study freely, choose a career path, or hold a job that offered stability, advancement, and economic independence. Apartheid-era laws determined where people could work, what roles they could hold, and how far they could advance — regardless of their talent, ambition, or determination.
That legacy still echoes in the communities where our Net Buddies grow up. Many of our teens come from households where unemployment is high, professional role models are few, and the pathway from school to a stable career feels distant or even impossible.
That’s exactly where our Video Mentors step in.
Each week, our mentors connect with Net Buddies through our structured video mentorship programme — sharing their own career journeys, demonstrating what success in the workplace looks like, and helping our teens believe that their own professional futures are within reach. Last year, our Net Buddies logged a combined total of almost 2,000 mentorship hours with their Video Mentors, representing a value of more than $69,000/R1.2 million.
Workers’ Day reminds us that the right to work — freely, fairly, and with dignity — was hard-won. At Infinite Family, we honour that legacy by investing in the next generation of workers: our teens, who deserve every opportunity to choose their own path.
Want to help open doors for a young South African? Become a Video Mentor today.