SANLAM Amana/ Shembe CFE training took place in the month of July at Inanda where approximately 80% of the community are members of the Shembe Church and the month of July is regarded as a religious period for the its members so this was part of Community Development initiatives by the church. We covered both rural and urban areas, mostly youth in the company of both Sanlam/Safrican and Shembe Foundation representatives who coordinated all the sessions and made sure that the logistics are in order and the venues are conducive. Amongst all 9 groups trained, the group from Amatikwe stood out. Firstly, in all sessions they were punctual which showed the eagerness and the respect they have for educational engagements. Infact, only one session was scheduled for that area but on the next day we were called to come back as they had more than 40 youth who were already at the venue by 8am to attend because they heard from their peers that they attended a very informative session the previous day and did not want to miss out so I had to take that group, unfortunately the hall was not booked for that day but they did not mind being trained in the shelter that was outside the hall and they stayed till the end without complaining. The most interesting topics were the one on needs/wants and boosting income. There was an argument on whether education is a need or a want? Few participants raised their opinions against it being a need as most of them are unemployed graduates and they strongly justified that there are many successful people who are not educated but the other participants who were for education being viewed as a need came up strongly with valid points which made the opponents realise that as much as there are many uneducated successful people but there will always be a need for some form of education for a wholesome and lasting success. Participants were also motivated and gained back confidence when I shared the ways of boosting their income by selling their talents and skills. This was an eye opener as they could see that even in the plight of the high unemployment rate, there are still other opportunities they can explore. All in all, the Amana/Shembe project was an inspiration to both participants and facilitators as most post training comments were heart warming and made us very proud that we played a role in empowering the youth of our country.