The news of the passing of one of our Ikamvanites has come as a shock to the IkamvaYouth family. Thembakazi Nyakatya joined IkamvaYouth in 2008 while she was doing grade 10. As a young girl from the township, education was the only option for her to become successful. Despite the peer pressure young girls experience in townships she chose education and kept up her attendance until she matriculated in 2010. While she was in grade 12, her positive influence encouraged her little brother Unathi Nyakatya to join the programme, thereafter her second brother Bazise Nyakatya in 2012. In 2011 Thembakazi came back to IkamvaYouth as a tutor. She believed that her background could not be an obstacle to achieving her goals, and it wasn’t. In 2014 she graduated with a diploma in Management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. In April 2016, while she was sick in hospital, she missed her BTech graduation.
Thembakazi was a role model not only to her siblings, but to many in the IkamvaYouth family and the community at large. We would like to express our condolences to her family. Lala Ngoxolo Thembsie.
The Mahikeng Branch in the North West is fortunate to have tutors who are committed to playing a vital role in the lives of Ikamvanites. These passionate tutors take time from their busy study schedules to help learners increase their chances of accessing a dignified living. What is exciting about our diverse team of tutors is the fact that it also includes students who are very close to completing their tertiary studies, which serves to further inspire our learners. Tutors not only dedicate their time, but also their knowledge and understanding of the different subjects they did in high school. They also ensure that by the time the learners leave the sessions they have a clearer understanding of their school work. The greatest thing about our tutoring sessions would be that learners show dedication to their work and reaching their life goals. While our learners focus on improving their performance, they also continuously inspire one another. Those learners who are performing fairly well use the tutoring space to assist one another through collaboration and peer-to-peer support. In the end the hard work the Ikamvanites put in pays off.
The tutors see a lot of potential in the learners and believe that they can obtain the results they need to help themselves out of poverty through education. Learners in townships are faced with challenging problems such as having to drop out of school and having to resort to other choices which they believe they can improve their lives.One of the IkamvaYouth values is openness and integrity and it is well practiced in our branch as most of our learners are open about the challenges they face and are in an environment where they can access different information on how to find solutions.
Hearing some of our tutor’s views:
Quinta NAWEJI Yombi from Taletso FET College has been part of the branch since September 2015 and this is what he had to say about our learners and the tutoring space as a whole. “Our ikamvanites show respect to the tutors, and each other even though they hail from different schools. They all want to see themselves with a bright future, they show openness and are able to show commitment to improve their marks by working together as one. Their openness is so much that that they allow us do our work as tutors and this impact will certainly lead them to a bright future, as they will also be able to give back to the community the kind of knowledge they have achieved. We believe that as tutors and ikamvanites, to serve tomorrow’s new generation is through-education. Nelson Mandela said “Education is a very powerful weapon that we can use to change the world”.
Selorm Awudestey is a tutor in Geography, English, History and help with other subjects. She started volunteering at IkamvaYouth last year.My experience so far with the learners has been interesting. As these learners are all unique and each have different or similar approaches towards their studies. There are some learners who are shy to ask for assistance while others are talkative and don’t mind asking a lot of questions of which benefits the entire group. I try my best to implement a need for studying and encourage them to read as much as possible, not just their school books but various books to help them think better, analyze different subjects from all perspectives and generally to learn how to think out of the box.
A view from our Ikamvanites:
Joese’ Mentoor a learner from Danville Secondary School outlined that his experience is so unbelievable because he has never achieved any high marks in his school work until he joined IkamvaYouth. “I am so grateful to IkamvaYouth for giving me the opportunity to make my parents and this organisation-proud.”
Omphemetse Serapelo Learner from Leteane Secondary School mentioned that she loves IkamvaYouth as it helped her to improve her marks, “to learn communication skills between different peers around me and to be a better person as a whole. Sis B and Ausi Bonolo are the best, they give us the kind of support we need to be comfortable and have confidence in ourselves. We are grateful to have tutors who are able to explain the work in full to us and have the patience to explain it more than 5 times without being annoyed about it.” She said
Our organisation is truly fortunate to work with these amazing Ikamvanites
For more information about IkamvaYouth Mahikeng please contact: info@ikamvayouth.org
Our newly launched Kuyasa branch hosted its first open-day on Saturday the 23rd of April 2016. Learners and parents gathered at Kuyasa Library, where our new branch is located. New applicants from different schools across Khayelitsha came to hear what IkamvaYouth has to offer for the rest of the year. A total number of 110 learners and parents were in attendance.
Zukiswa Gavu-Booi, the new Programme coordinator of IkamvaYouth Kuyasa, gave a warm welcome to all the learners, parents and volunteers present at the event. Zukiswa also shared a presentation about IkamvaYouth and its programmes then proceeded to explain the IkamvaYouth model and what is expected of an Ikamvanite. Part of that was outlining the 75% attendance requirement and explaining the reasons for dismissals/kick-outs.
It was exciting to see the commitment from the parents and learners; even on a cold and rainy day, the training room at Kuyasa Library was fully packed and everyone in attendance stayed until the end of the program.
A Q&A session was facilitated by our ever enthusiastic Makhaza Branch Coordinator, Busiswa”Ms. B”Dayimani. Parents and learners asked very relevant questions, such as how to overcome challenges that might impact a learner’s attendance to which Busiswa gave clarity.
We opened this branch because we saw a great demand from the learners around Kuyasa, Harare and surroundings. Learners at IkamvaYouth Kuyasa will not only be tutored, but they will also get the chance to take part in other programmes that IkamvaYouth offers such as Career Guidance, Mentoring, Operation Fikelela (Computer literacy), Health and Life skills as well as Media Image and Expression where they will be given an opportunity to showcase their talents in poetry, visual arts, and music.
We’re in the process of recruiting tutors for the branch, so if you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor you can sign up here.
In January this year, we were super excited to announce that our matric class of 2015 had achieved a staggering 80% pass rate, beating the national average by 9%. Passing matric, however, is only the first hurdle that South African youth need to clear, in order to set themselves on the path towards earning a dignified living. IkamvaYouth strives to ensure that our learners access post school opportunities in the form of tertiary studies, learnerships/other apprenticeship programmes, and employment. IkamvaYouth are pleased to report an overall 90% placement rate for our class of 2015, an increase from last year’s 85%!
56% of the learners who passed are now pursuing tertiary studies, enrolled in a wide range of courses this year. The fields of study being pursued the most this year are science & engineering, with an impressive 25% of the cohort pursuing qualifications in these areas, followed by a close 19% of the learners enrolled in commercial studies. Other courses being pursued by our class of 2016 include Psychology, Legal studies, Nursing, Maritime studies, and Media/Marketing related studies.
After the excitement of passing matric, and then getting accepted into tertiary, our learners have to contend with yet another hurdle: accessing funds to finance their studies. While we are concerned about the high number of learners who have not yet secured funding for their studies this year, we are really pleased that most (57%) have secured funding through study loans (mostly through NSFAS: 43%) and bursaries/scholarships. We are particularly proud of these Ikamvanites who managed to secure bursaries/scholarships:
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Palesa Machabela from the Ebony Park branch received a university entrance bursary to study Human Life Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch.
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Thabang Rankeng, also from Ebony Park was awarded by the Gauteng City Region Academy, for being among the top three performing learners in his school. He is now studying towards a BSc (Chemistry) degree at Wits.
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Chumisa Yapi from Makhaza was awarded a university entrance bursary by UCT, to study towards a BSc degree.
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6 learners were awarded the prestigious Moshal Scholarship: Wandile Majozi and Nhlanhla Mabaso from Chesterville, both studying towards Bcom (accounting) degrees at UKZN; as well as 4 learners from Ebony Park: Puledi Chipape (Geological Sciences at Wits), Kefilwe Maake (Mechanical Engineering at UCT), Sharon Maota (Biological Sciences at Wits), and Onkarabile Kau (Computer Science at the University of Pretoria).
Here’s what 2 of the bursary recipients had to say:
“Ikamva has taught me the reward of focus and preparation especially when it comes to post matric preparation. Honestly without IkamvaYouth I would not have been heading into the bright future I am heading into today (Going to Stellenbosch University, my parents not having to pay for my fees)” – Palesa Machabela
“I feel very happy and blessed that the Moshal program granted me this scholarship. I really feel special and thank the program for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to further my studies. … Receiving the scholarship means … the world to me… it showed me that some people out there believe in me and have faith that I can do wonders in this field.” – Puledi Chipape
Congrats on getting your feet through the door towards a brighter future, Ikamvanites! We are so proud of what you’ve achieved so far, and are so looking forward to seeing you realise your dreams.
There is a popular African proverb that says “it takes a village to raise a child”. Nowhere is this proverb more important than in the education of our children. The success of the child depends on the community that surrounds and supports them. That community is made up of staff, learners, tutors, volunteers and parents.
Two of the volunteers at the Joza branch share some of their thoughts on why they continue paying it forward and volunteering at the branch. Sibulele Moyakhe is from the matric class of 2015. He tutors daily at the branch while waiting to start his nursing qualification with Netcare. Nomboniso Gongqa is a volunteer from the community who works in the office in the mornings and tutors in the afternoons.
Being a tutor for me is exciting because I get to meet people of my age and those younger than me and actually help them with their school work. Part of the reason why this whole experience excites me is because in the past few years I was a learner and there were volunteers who helped me with my school work and today I can proudly say they have made a difference in my life which is why today I made a decision to give back to the community and help when I can.
For me this tutoring thing is now becoming my hobby because it is something I get to do every day and I must say I enjoy it. There is nothing quite like being called up by a student who is stuck or cannot solve a problem asking for help, and after your assistance you see the smile on their face because you have made a difference in their lives.
One thing I have learnt ever since I have been part of IkamvaYouth is that all it takes to make a difference in one’s life as a tutor is a simple input and help where you can, and that’s what I have been doing.
The learners I work with have been very appreciative which is what drives me to keep on doing what I do, and so far the journey for me has been more than worth it, and yet this is only the beginning.
Sibulele Moyakhe, Matric 2015, Tutor 2016.
Being at IkamvaYouth has been a great experience for me because waking up to go volunteer has made me feel like a better person. Knowing that I am not here to make money for already rich people but rather helping the children of my own community. I was born and bred in Joza and I enjoy being part of an organization that has a motive of helping Joza children to be successful in life.
For me it is exciting every morning when I come to the office to see the children who are willing to put in the hours to benefit their future. The programme gives these children an opportunity to improve their education rather than spend their hours after school being involved in activities such as crime and drugs. They say if one wants to make a change then they should start at home. I’m also gladly starting at home. As much as the learners are learning from me, I am learning from them too.
Nomboniso Gongqa, Volunteer and Tutor.
Lloyd Lungu