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!
written by Ikamva learners
It was a trip that I will never forget because I learned so many things. I enjoyed going to Clanwilliam because I learned about rock art, how the bushmen used to live, and also about the rocks and plants. I learned more about the Table Mountain, for example that it is made out of sandstone. I’ve been asking myself how this big place could have been made out of sand. Then we arrived to Clanwilliam. Although the village is small, it is a fun and interesting place. Next morning we woke up early to go see the San rock art. We saw paintings of men, women and animals and learned about how they were painted and also what they tell us about the San. Then we went back to Cape Town.
The part of the trip that I enjoyed the most was having fun with my friends and eating good food. Another thing that I enjoyed was talking to the UCT students who went on the trip with us. Overall, it was a good weekend.
Picture below: Ikamvanites listening to a guide
Special Thanks to Dr. Carl Palmer and the sponsors of this trip
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
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.
Lloyd Lungu