Cricket fever was at an all time high at the Ivory Park IkamvaYouth Centre as Neotel launched the Community Internet Cafe in partnership with our friends at Siyakhula. Ikamvanites participated in the festivites and were joined by the Nashua Titans’s Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, Henry Davids, Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, David Wiese and the Bizhub Team Cyclists’ Lynn Torp, Catherine Williamson and Yolandi du Toit to celebrate the event.
A massive thank you to Neotel for an awesome day and the excitement of which was reflected in the response from the community to Neotel’s generous donation of computers, printers, scanners and internet access to the centre and people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park. Our friends at the Siyakhula Computer School aim to inspire students to broaden their knowledge and increase their chances of entry into the working world and this will be all the more easier with the installation of 10 computers, unlimited access to the web, as well as computer lessons so that Siyakhula remains a place of hope and inspiration.
The Nashua Titans themselves also got a chance to “test-drive” the internet café and were taught a thing or two by some of the local community members who have been attending the computer courses on offer at Siyakhula. They then proceeded to take on the Ikamvanites in a 10 minute aside soccer games, mingling with each other amid a lots of physical activity.
Also in attendance was Carol Manana of SABC Sport, Giant Leap, Medi-IQand the favorites of the day Akhumzi and Cindy of Yo-TV who stole the show as everybody wanted a piece of them. Be sure to watch the Big Breakfast show on SABC 1 on Saturday 12th..
One of SA’s top 5 cyclists, Yolandi du Toit was impressed by what she experienced,
“This is not just some passing campaign, this is here to stay, improve people’s lives and truly make a difference […] the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park have secured an opportunity to better their education and skills.”
Considering the day was dedicated to education and enhancing one’s skills, the sports celebrities were given a chance to showcase their skills and expertise with workspace specialists, Giant Leap who kindly donated nearly 100 soccer balls. These were put to good use by the players and community members in the keenly contested sporting challenges. Alongside this were other fun fitness activities hosted by leading sports equipment suppliers, Medi IQ with hurdles, hoola-hooping and bouncing balls. Titans captain, Jacques Rudolph had the following to say:
“I think that the set up here is fantastic and that the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park are both fortunate and grateful for all that they have on their doorstep. I encourage other corporates to get involved in their local communities, as it is actually very easy to make a significant difference.”
In her address to the community, Pumi Sithole of Neotel expressed their desire as an organisation to bring about change and positively influence the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, Neotel also donated an overhead projector and screen to the centre in addition to the centre’s current internet café.
“If we can begin by making a positive impact on the development of each community – no matter how big or small that development is, the prospects for this country will be unlimited”, affirmed Pumi.
It’s another goal scored for Siyakhula, IkamvaYouth and Neotel with the successful internet empowerment of the surrounding community! You can be sure that the Ikamvanites will benefit tremendously from the internet now readily avaialble to them
More photos of the day are available to view here.
Written in part by Caroline Malan from MSCSPORTS.
On the weekend of the 5th and 6th of March IYKZN hosted it`s first SPW. This was an honour especially due to the presence of Joy Olivier. The two days were very productive. Team spirit was high and energy was immense.
Over the two days the KZN Team of IkamvaNites discussed everything that the organization is planning for the learners in 2011. From new Branches to Branch comm members. The weekend started out as a normal tutoring Saturday, but after the lessons, than the really fun stuff began. First we discussed the fundamental issues to be covered in the SPW. Things like getting all the volunteers to fully understand what IY is and what it`s values are, what it stands for and it`s glorious and sometimes challenging history.
We went on to discuss the various Branch comm codes(a minor change was made) and elect Commitee members. Many great ideas were brought up in this beautiful meeting. Ideas for the winter school programme, to improve productivity and boost creativity.
All In all,strategic_planning_weekend.pdf the weekend was amazing, the list of things we achieved was just overwhelming. The most interesting bit was when one of the learner reps confessed to believing that the tutors are heartless monsters, (lol) now she understands that they are very nice people who just want to help her. (lol too cute if you ask me :*) )
In conclusion, i would like to declare that IYKZN this year is aiming very high ( especially since we are opening a new branch with a 20-computer computer lab in Chesterville , in the words of Khona WHOOP WHOOP LOL ) and if the energy of the SPW is consistent we will achieve loads.
IkamvaYouth KZN : LIFT AS YOU RISE . . .
SPW Minutes spw_kzn.pdf_.pdf
IkamvaYouth is having a FOODIE AUCTION. Have a look at the:
foodie_auction_catalog.pdf
…and while the days away deciding what to bid on!
Ever wanted: A dinner for two at that you-have-to-book-a-year-ahead restaurant? A private cooking session for you and a friend with one of Cape Town’s top chefs? To learn how to make chocolate ttruffles? A backstage pass to a busy restaurant kitchen, the real story all unconfidential? All those wish items from Yuppiechef to kickstart your gourmet kitchen?
On the 24th March at the Book Lounge, 71 Roeland Street at 18.00 come along to the IkamvaYouth Foodie Auction and have the exlcusive opportunity to bid and win all these things and many more. An auction of exuberant, exceptional and highly erudite taste hosted by comedian Rob Van Vuuren.
Come and enjoy ALL this, with one goal in mind: raising awareness and funds for IKAMVAYOUTH
All the profit from this event will be used during IkamvaYouth’s Winter School’s and excursions for Gold learners. IkamvaYouth values commitment over anything else and to incentivize the committment of the learners we reward the top attendees with excursions and events; museum visits, to beach clean ups, to documentary festivals. It is important to recognise these learners’ commitment. The funds raised will help to make these excursions a regular occurence and really encouarge the learners full commitment to the programme.
The Winter Schools take place at every branch and support the other programmes in an intensive 2 week fun filled extravaganza. Check out the blog posts from the 2010 Winter Schools. Students participate in career guidance, tutoring, entrepreneurship programmes, drumming, dancing, photography, and acting workshops, and educational excursions. This 2 week period culminates in the IkamvaYouth Talent Show!
will all be there, and so should you!
Other sponsors include:
The Kitchen and Richard Chamberlain are also supporting this event.
So come and support IkamvaYouth and bid on all the amazing deals that are on offer on 24th March at the Book Lounge!
81% access to post-school opportunities for IkamvaYouth’s class of 2010 More than half return as tutors and mentors for the next generation
Above: Happy matrics from the Gauteng celebrate their registration
Less than 10% of all South African youth access tertiary education (SAIRR study, 2009), and 41.6% of 18-24 year olds are not in education/training or employment (CHET,2009). It is no doubt largely those children living in poverty and attending under-resourced schools, as opposed to middle class children, whose reality is largely reflected in these statistics.
Yet 81% of IkamvaYouth’s passing matriculants have accessed post-school placements in 2011. This is despite the fact that the far majority of IkamvaYouth’s learners’ caregivers are unemployed, disabled or deceased. They have not let poverty and challenging home environments prevent them from enrolling at institutions including UCT, Wits, UKZN, UNISA, DUT, UWC, CPUT, to study fields such as Environmental Science, Electrical Engineering, Psychology, Business, Nursing, Computer Science, Social Science, Journalism and Physiotherapy.
68 learners from Khayelitsha, Ebony Park, Cato Manor and Molweni sat the examinations at the end of last year and 59 passed. Here are the matric results per province:
· 85% pass in Western Cape (of whom 48% achieved bachelor and 39% diploma)
· 85% in KZN (of whom 50% achieved bachelor and 45% diploma),
– 94% in Gauteng (of whom 63% bachelor and 25% diploma).
42% are now at university, 38% at colleges, 6% at technikons, and 6% have been awarded learnerships. These figures exclude the learners who failed and one learner who we are struggling to make contact with. Each of the 9 learners who failed will remain in the programme and retake their grade 12 exams, together with an additional 3 learners who have chosen to retake and improve their results.
IkamvaYouth instills a culture of learning which fuels the desire to achieve. It also encourages these learners to pay-it-forward and 51% will be volunteering at their branches to inspire the younger learners to emulate their successes. “IkamvaYouth has instilled a sense of determination and self-belief, and young people from township communities are truly being the change”, says Thobela Bixa, an ex-learner who is studying for his Masters in Chemistry at UCT. He pays-it-forward at the Makhaza branch and now sits on the organisation’s board of directors.
Ikamvanites all over the country are taking their future into their own hands. A person with a degree can earn almost five times more than someone without matric (CHET, 2009), and Mandela was spot on when he said “It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.”
IkamvaYouth is thrilled to report that this year its two newest branches – Nyanga and Masiphumelele – will have grade 12 cohorts for the first time, and is looking forward to achieving similarly excellent results with many more learners in 2011 and beyond.
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NATIONAL FIGURES
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Number of students
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Percentage
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Students who sat matric
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68
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Number of passes
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59
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86.76
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Number of fails
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9
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13.24
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Students that can’t be traced
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1
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1.47
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Students retaking at the end of the year
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13
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19.12
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No placement
|
7
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10.29
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Placements
|
47
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81.03
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Matrics excluding un-tracables and failed matrics
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58
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Post-school placements exc non-traceables and failed matrics
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81.03
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Of those students who have post-school placements
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|
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University
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20
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42.55
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Technikon
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3
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6.38
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College/ institutes
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18
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38.30
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learnership
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6
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12.77
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Paying-it-Forward
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|
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Students returning to volunteer
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35
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51.47
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Lloyd Lungu