Activities at the Makhaza winter school are in full swing, with one of the Wednesday and Thursday morning sessions being financial literacy training presented by Capitec Bank to all the pupils. During these sessions, learners had the opportunity to share their career ambitions, and more specifically where they saw themselves in the next 10 years and what they hoped to save up for. Groups included pupils who hope to become financial risk managers, business owners, world travellers and computer scientists, to name but a few. When it came to the items they’ll be saving for, undoubtedly top of the list was a home for mom and flashy cars for themselves.
The Capitec Bank team then ran through the elements required to achieve those objectives, highlighting a key to saving is one’s ability to differentiate between what qualifies as a need and a want. The pupils shared some of their thoughts and understandings on the matter and it was determined that everyone’s needs and wants are different. For example, many of the pupils shared their views on the importance of education but whether education qualifies as a need or a want was a contested issue.
Other topics covered were drawing up a budget, making the commitment to stick to that budget and save, and opening a Global One savings account with Capitec Bank to manage that process. The session closed off with a Q & A where a few goodies were handed out.
Thanks Megan and your team!!
It’s almost becoming a yearly ritual but once again Ikamvanites feature on the Mail and Guardian’s list of 200 Young South Africans.
This year two more Ikamvanites have been honoured:
- Thobela Bixa (Former IkamvaYouth learner and now IkamvaYouth Board Member)
- Andrew Barrett (Co-founder of IkamvaYouth Gauteng and Siyakhula Education Foundation)
Last year, three ikamvanites were featured on the 2011 M&G list:
Last year we said we could barely wait for our first cohort of ex-learners to make the list and this year Thobela has started what we expect to become a trend. Onwards and upwards.
Its that time of the year again. We have reached that crucial midyear point. Umlazi started operations on the 14th of April 2012, tutoring began on the 23rd with just 18 learners. Winter School sees a number of 58 learners and 14 tutors making up the Umlazi team.
It’s been a very interesting time for us here in Umlazi, challenges galore but we made it through. When the branch started operating we sat with 18 learners for 2 whole weeks. We had to approach schools over again and convince learners face to face at assembly that we are here to help them. Our biggest ally in getting the learner number up to the target (50) has been the learners themselves. They are so happy with the help they are getting that they just seem to bring more and more of their friends.
We now sit with 58 learners in the space of 2 months and the number is set to grow with time. The great thing is that even the number of local volunteers is increasing. In the 2 weeks leading up to Winter School we have 3 new tutors from the neighbourhood come in and join 🙂
Looking forward to our first Winter School as a new branch.
Every once in a while someone comes along into your life that forces you to examine your own, examine the way you relate to other people, the way you pay it forward, the way you appreciate every little thing that comes your way. Unathi is one of those people. She started as a volunteer in 2009 at the Makhaza branch and very quickly integrated herself into every little inch of everything we do, a walking embodiment of all the values we as Ikamvanites hold in our hearts and try live by every day.
So quickly did she become part of the branch and as the head of two programs, we never thought of the possibility of ever losing her to the corportate world!
Unathi and Torie
“My name is Unathi Smile, joined Ikamva Youth in 2009 as a volunteer. The main subjects I tutored were Maths, Accounting, Business Economics and Economics. I started tutoring the younger grades especially the grade 10s. I matriculated in 2006 from Harry Gwala Secondary; in 2010 I graduated in ND: Management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. In 2012 I graduated in Btech: Quality from the same institution. In between studying, I maintained volunteering at Ikamva and I tutored the older grades. In 2011 I tutored intensely which resulted in me becoming a coach in a computer program called Khan Academy. This did not end there I became the director of the Khan Academy program.
Capitec Bank hosted Competency Tests during the March school holidays to help IkamvaYouth develop a benchmark for which we can compare results, which I also took part in. In a matter of 3 weeks I received a phone call from the bank for an interview. Right after the interview I waited for full two weeks and heard the news I have wanted to hear, I had passed the interview!
The experience I have gained from working with the kids and the knowledge I have gained from studying for 5 years made me the leader I am today.”
So today is Unathi’s first day at her new job! And while we are very sad at Makhaza not to have her around everyday, this is the whole reason why we do what we do – people paying it forward in their lives, pulling themselves and each other out of povery. Unathi we know you will be a HUGE success at Capitec, and they will love you as much as we do!
Chilling with the boys
Lloyd Lungu