Funeka entered the IkamvaYouth programme in 2004 at the Makhaza branch in Khayelitsha. Here is a summary of her amazing achievements:
- She completed matric in 2005 and was one of a number of learners who successfully jumped 4 symbols in Mathematics.
- She graduated from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (Cape Town campus) in Information Technology in 2009.
- She is currently working full-time at Capitec after successfully completing an internship at Swisstec.
- Funeka has held many jobs during the course of her studies to support herself financially (including part-time jobs at Vodacom, Edgars and Spur) and has set an exemplary record of how one can manage a job, studies and still find time for volunteering!
- She has remained involved with Ikamva as a volunteer computer trainer at the Makhaza lab and has taught many learners how to work through our Operation Fikelela computer literacy course. She continues to participate in a management capacity on the Makhaza management committee providing invaluable support when needed.
Funeka Kalawe has been a vital part of the Ikamva family for the past 5 years. She joined in 2004 as a grade 11 learner. Originally from the Eastern Cape province, she came to the Western Cape in 2000. She moved to Khayelitsha and attended Harry Gwala High School. She knew that she needed help in some subjects, particularly in maths, but money was not available to pay for private tutoring. One day she saw a poster at the school’s library offering free help, and as she says this was the poster that later changed her life. She started tutoring with Ikamva and her maths improved significantly.
She was also exposed to exhibitions and other events in Cape Town, as tutors would use their own cars to make sure learners had transportation and access to these important events. In 2005, she came back to Ikamva as a grade 12 learner and continued to work hard on raising her scores. Funeka remembers that university was not something she considered or thought possible, until joining Ikamva. She had trouble understanding the loans and bursary options out there and heavily relied on Ikamva for help during this complicated process. The tutors provided her with forms and helped her to fill them out. They even helped with application money for her and the other learners that needed help.
She successfully applied to Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), University of Western Cape (UWC), and Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA), with a first choice of studies in computer science and a second choice in biomedical technology. She remembers the career guidance workshops and someone coming in to talk about IT and various careers within the technology industry, so she was able to carefully consider her options and pick a field of study that was right for her.
In 2006, in addition to her regular coursework at CPUT, she also came back to Ikamva as a tutor. She initially started tutoring in maths, and in 2007 moved over to tutoring computers. The lab existed at this point, but there was still no internet. She states ‘I came back to ‘give-back’ and to keep my connections.’ When asked about the challenge of giving up her free time she smiled and said ‘It was easy because I really love what I was and am doing at Ikamva.’ In 2006, she was selected to go to Singapore as part of an IkamvaYouth fundraising trip, after winning the talent show. Boarding a plane for the first time in her life, she set off with 10 other volunteers for close to two weeks to hold auctions, wine tastings, and other events to support Ikamva. She even met the South African ambassador!