FETCH unlocks the potential of young people and their communities to fetch the future they aspire to. Rooted in the Basic Package of Support (BPS) — a collaboration programme led by SALDRU (UCT) and the CSDA (UJ), and grounded in local communities, FETCH champions an approach to youth well-being and employability that centres on innovative, trauma-informed Multidimensional Coaching and strong community networks.
Through youth development partners and our digital platform, FETCH Future, we offer holistic, scaffolded support that helps young people and their communities break free of poverty traps. Our name reflects our mission: to Facilitate, Empower, Transform, Connect, and bring Hope – so that youth can take charge of their own lives, futures, and communities.
FETCH equips youth development organisations with the tools, training, and digital resources they need to deliver our Multidimensional Coaching model. By training local coaches, strengthening community networks, and embedding trauma-informed, holistic approaches into existing programmes, we enable partners to support young people more effectively.
Our digital platform, FETCH Future, extends this support by providing accessible, scalable tools for career and wellbeing development. In this way, FETCH doesn’t “do the coaching” – we make sure communities and partners can deliver it, ensuring sustainable, locally-rooted impact.
Despite significant public and private investment, the number of young people Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) in South Africa continues to rise. In Q1 2025, 62.4% of young people aged 15–24 were unemployed.1 Presidency of South Africa. (2024). Presidential Employment Stimulus Dashboard and 2024 SONA Report. Available at: https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/employment-stimulus-dashboard Even young people who are employed, studying, or in training often face unstable conditions that put them at risk of dropping out.
Young people in this country face multiple challenges that prevent them from building secure futures. Many leave school without qualifications, struggle with unreliable transport, poor housing, mental health challenges, and limited social networks.2 European Commission. (2023). Multidimensional coaching for the socio-economic advancement of people in poverty. Publications Office of the European Union.
Additionally, they grapple with the invisible, inner experiences of poverty that serve to reinforce and sustain experiences of material deprivation.3 ATD Fourth World & University of Oxford. (2019). The Hidden Dimensions of Poverty: International participatory research. Oxford: University of Oxford.
These inner, often unseen dimensions of poverty – like decision fatigue, chronic worry or loss of confidence – reinforce the visible material hardships and make it harder for young people to break free.
These compounding challenges trap youth in cycles of exclusion – limiting their ability to thrive and engage with opportunity.
The majority of South Africans are stuck in an inequality trap with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. Most are stuck in intergenerational loops of exclusion with few chances to escape. Breaking this cycle requires a fundamental change in life trajectories, starting in the womb.
Think of a Möbius strip – just one twist in the circle allows you to trace a completely different pattern. Instead of being stuck on the inside of a loop, you emerge on the outside. In the same way, escaping the inequality trap requires a fundamental twist to set South Africa on a new path.
FETCH challenges traditional youth development models by addressing the multiple and complex effects of socio-economic exclusion. We understand that young people growing up in contexts of multi-dimensional poverty face layered challenges, including invisible, inner deprivations, that cannot be solved by an individual intervention on its own.
Our scaffolded model provides personalised support across emotional, social, and economic wellbeing. Coaches work alongside young people to navigate complex barriers, set meaningful goals, and build a sense of agency and hope for the future. Young people can move dynamically between the tiers as their needs change.
But we don’t stop with the individual. FETCH strengthens the ecosystem around young people by connecting them with local services. These services are supported and strengthened through local Youth Collectives – spaces where young people, community leaders, and local service providers collaborate to co-design practical, localised solutions that improve the quality of support in their area.
The FETCH approach helps transform lives and communities by addressing the complex, interconnected challenges that keep young people trapped in multi-dimensional poverty.
Young People Feel More Supported, Regulated, and Confident
Multidimensional Coaching equips young people with the emotional tools to manage stress, regulate their emotions, and ask for help. After just three structured coaching sessions, participants demonstrate a decrease in anxiety and significant improvements in their ability to handle stress, regulate emotions, and ask for help when overwhelmed.
Improved Access to Services Breaks Down Barriers
We co-create referral pathways and map services with young people in their own communities. By enabling young people to lead the way and take ownership of service mapping in their area, their sense of agency improves. Many participants, previously unsure where to turn, now feel informed and empowered to take action.
Reconnection to Learning, Skilling, and Earning
FETCH helps young people re-engage with education, skilling or earning paths that align with their personal aspirations. Coaching supports them to stay engaged – even through challenges like transport, stress, or discrimination. This ensures they can make meaningful progress toward long-term economic and holistic wellbeing.
Connected Communities Strengthen the System Around Youth
Youth thrive when the systems around them are stronger. Through Youth Collectives, we work with local organisations, service providers, and young people to co-design systemic solutions and strengthen collaboration across sectors. This builds a more responsive and accessible ecosystem of support for change.
Trying to change life trajectories is ambitious and profound. It requires us to radically influence the lives of individuals and to be part of changing the circumstances in which they live.
For more information, contact info@fetchhub.org
Visit the SALDRU (UCT) site for more reading.
