I was part of the history group so we were taken to the District 6 museum. We were told about District 6 and the different places formed for different people. I didn’t think I would be interested in history, but when we arrived at the museum, it was really interesting. We went around the museum and saw different things being displayed. We did an activity where we had to find things in the museum. There were great poems displayed on the floor of the memorial hall, and you had to choose one but I ended up choosing two because all those poems were good. We were sad because the fun had to end so we went back to TSIBA .
Snaza Dlakovu, Grade 8
The physics and chemistry group was very fun. At first I didn’t understand what we were going to do, because there were these funny machines that I had never seen before. The teacher, Nomfundo, told us that we were making an alarm. I was so confused and shocked because I had never made an alarm before. So many thoughts went through my head. I had never made an alarm before. I made the alarm and when I was confused or didn’t put the material in a right way the tutors were there to help us. When it was time to put the batteries in, everything was good, the sound and the lights were good. It made a good sound, and I was so proud. I wish to do something as exciting today.
Modelwa Ranisi, Grade 8
Yesterday I watched a movie called Human Planet on how people around the world stay alive. I learned how other people find or make their own food. The people shown get their food in the sea. What I loved about the movie, was that the people rely on one another just to feed their families. The whole village or island works together just to put food on the table. Another thing that I loved was that even though hunting for fish in the sea is very hard, people in those countries or islands never give up. They risk their own lives for their people. What I didn’t love was that people in those countries did very dangerous jobs and that is high risk, but I learned that giving up wont help you. You have to struggle to get or to achieve what you want. The movie inspired me a lot, and I wish I could go to sea and try to hunt fish.
Sinazo Maqolu, Grade 8
At the District Six Museum, we learned about the forced removal of people. It was cool. There was a man named Mr. Williams who was one of the people who were forced to move out of their own homes to other countries. We asked him how it felt, and he said it was very painful. Yesterday made me very serious about my future and very confident about it. I want to thank Ikamva Youth for the opportunity they gave me.
Sinazo Kula, Grade 8
We have been studying the poetry from ‘Through Our Eyes’ in English class. My Year 9 High school students in Australia spent a few weeks reading and reflecting on the insightful and inspiring poetry from IkamvaYouth. I, their teacher, spent a year in Cape Town in 2008 and volunteered with Ikamva as a tutor as well as taking part in all the other wonderful things that were being done. I was at the exhibition of the photos from the book and ran an interactive body percussion workshop at the launch. Some of you might remember the slogan we sang: Pictures are our stories of the world through our eyes.
As a result, it was so exciting when I started teaching in High school and realised that I could use this opportunity to spread the story of IkamvaYouth, a self sustaining, innovative organisation. At the same time, I could expose my students to some new themes and introduce them to some of the passionate people I had met, through their poetry.
We spent a few classes discussing HIV and AIDS, exchanging information that is essential for all young people. This tied in very well with Thobela’s poem ‘I want the meaning of Positive’ and it sparked much conversation about HIV as a personal and global issue and what life might be like if the word ‘Positive’ took on a new meaning from the one you’d been taught as a child. ‘Do you know your status’ was also another poem that struck my students. Life can be planned. We can strive for dreams, but all that could come to nothing if we don’t know our status. ‘I had never realised’ was another poem that we enjoyed, because it told about how perspectives change as a result of experiences. Often we don’t realise things until they stare us right in the face. This poem allowed us to question our lives and our assumptions, and begin to wonder how many things ‘we’ haven’t realised yet. It also led us to discuss what might be similar in the lives of teenagers in Khayelitsha and Australia, and what things might be different.
We also spent some time looking at the Photo Gallery on the IkamveYouth website, and that allowed us to spend an afternoon seeing Khayelitsha through your eyes as well as catching a glimpse of some of the poets in the photos. Here are my students’ reflections on some of the poetry. We’d like to thank all the poets and photographers for the snapshot of their lives, that allowed us to enter and learn from the experience. I’d also like to thank Joy for allowing us to share our reflections with you.
Eva Franklin
Approximately 120 Ikamva Makhaza learners have gathered today on the TSIBA campus to kick off this year’s Winter School. It will run from Tuesday, 28th June to Friday, 8th July. This morning the learners attended opening speeches and general orientation. They then were divided into interest streams and participated in a short icebreaker session within these groups. These games were followed by tutoring and a delicious lunch, prepared by a former Ikamvanite and now a professional chef, Lungelo. Learners are most excited about this Winter School’s workshops, which range from magazine design to science labs at UCT. This afternoon learners are engaged in various interesting activities–some are building satellite models with volunteers from CPUT; others are visiting the District Six museum.
Look forward to more news about the exciting events of the upcoming two weeks!
I am one of the volunteering tutors for IkamvaYouth in Maths and Science at the Makhaza branch and ever since I started helping out, which was about feb 2011, I have been enjoying every moment of it, absolutely have no regrets about nothing. One of the many reasons I devote a lot of my free time to helping these HighSchool children with their studies is because I was once a student in a disadvantaged school myself and I know what it’s like to have your dreams faded out by lack of study material or enough qualified teachers for science subjects, at the same time not affording Saturday classes and extra lessons. This can really make a student’s life difficult, and so I have decided to help the disadvantaged youth in any way I can academically and ikamvayouth is a good way of achieving that. I believe that without the youth, there is no tomorrow, and without educated youth there is no better tomorrow than today. We should all invest in their futures, not only for their sake but for the sake of humanity as well. I am also glad to have gone to my first SPW where me and other tutors had lots of fun collaborating with the most committed students in coming up with ideas to improve IY, during which I was given the opportunity to help out in other parts like the BranchComm, serving as the head of Operation Fikelela and also helping out with the administration of the ikamvayouth computer lab, along with some brilliant IY students who have a big interest in IT. There’s nothing better than somebody to look at you and say you’ve change their lives, and it’s just a privilege to teach these kids.
The party is on! The much anticipated Winter School is nearly here. Applications are in, speakers are organised and a variety of amazing activities have been coordinated by the IkamvaYouth team and our wonderful volunteers. There are 5 winter schools taking place around South Africa – 3 in Western Cape, Gauteng, and KZN.
It all begins on the 27th June and will run until 16th July. These events bring together all the Ikamvanites; learners, volunteers, staff members, parents. 440 learners from some of South Africa’s most disadvantaged areas are spending their holidays developing their skills, identities and aspirations at the career oriented winter schools. We are lucky enough to have the support of many volunteers; tutors, speakers, and workshop facilitators, to help these events run smoothly (we hope!)
Ikamvanites get a talk at the 2010 Winter School
It is a way of introducing young learners from the townships to a wider world of opportunity through; targeted career advice and mentoring activities, supplementary tutoring, excursions and workshops, and through career speakers offering advice and support to enable the learners to access tertiary education and employment. IkamvaYouth’s volunteers are university students (many of them former IkamvaYouth learners), international volunteers, retirees, and subject specific professionals. In addition we are blessed with the support of University of Western Cape (UWC), TsiBA, Durban Uninversity of Technology (DUT), Masiphumelele Library and Siyakhula Centre. All these institutions have generously offered their facilities and time free of charge.
IkamvaYouth is responding to South Africa’s educational crisis. South Africa’s educational system is ranked 97th out of 100 educational systems worldwide. In addition to this abysmal ranking, there is the pervasive problem of unequal access to education, particularly higher education; Only 10% South African youth access tertiary education, of which only a fraction come from townships (SAIRR, 2009), Matric pass rate of 59.9% Black learners compared to 99.6% for White learners in 2008 (WCED, 2008). IkamvaYouth addresses these inequalities and will redress this.
The Winter Schools are a step toward this. They offer space for youth to escape the harsh realities of township life, and while doing so they foster the ambition to succeed and build the capacity of youth to seize the opportunities available to them. The 2011 programme has taken a very career focused approach. Learners have been asked to sign up for different activity streams:
1) Leadership, health and life skills 2) Creative Expression and Arts 3) Media and Journalism 4) Technology and Engineering 5) Environmental Science, Geography and Sustainability 6) Physics and Chemistry 7) History, Social Justice and Political Science 8) Entrepreneurship and Business.
By grouping youth on the basis of their interests we hope to maximize the impact of workshops, excursions and speakers.
The schedules are jam-packed! The morning consists of small-group tutoring sessions focused on securing the literacy and numeracy fundamentals that often inhibit learners from achieving their potentials. Tutors work with learners in small groups, and provide real-time feedback in response to areas of difficulty. The afternoons are filled with a range of enriching workshops and excursions; from Wits University, to the Cheetah Outreach Park, to social entrepreneurship seminars, to satellite and engineering workshops, to pottery, to science practicals, to yoga, to writing, producing and printing a magazine. It is all here!
There is always room for more. If you want to get involved at any of our branches just contact the branch coordinators. Simple as that!
See branch venues and contact information;
Makhaza Branch, Liesel Bakker: liesel@ikamayouth.org, at TsiBA
Nyanga Branch, Nombu Dziba: nombuyiselo@ikamvayouth.org, at UWC
Masihphumelele Branch, Nicolas Commeignes: nicolasc@ikamvayouth.org, at Masiphumelele Library (masiphumelele_map_1.pdf and masiphumelele_map_2.pdf)
Ivory Park Branch, Joe Manciya: joe@ikamvayouth.org, at Siyakhula Centre
Cato Manor Branch, Khona Dlamini: khona@ikamvayouth.org, at Durban University of Technology
Lloyd Lungu