The beginning of each year at IkamvaYouth is always an exciting time for IkamvaYouth branches across the country as we usher the previous year’s Matrics into post-school opportunities, welcome new learners and tutors and together decide on the goals and outcomes of the New Year. On the 14th of March 2015, Gauteng branches namely Ebony Park and Ivory Park held its annual Strategic Planning Weekend (SPW). Staff members, learners and volunteers came together to spend the entire day discussing how Ebonites and Ivonites can make 2015 a good year for Gauteng branches.
The day started with introductions and a fun ice breaker from a wonderful tutor, Mr Welsh Dube, to energize attendees for the day. A total number of 52 excluding staff members attended 2015 Strategic Planning Workshop. Both branches outlined the rules and expectation for day and agreed that everyone should follow them. Mrs Zvomuya, Branch Coordinator for Ebony Park, gave a brief presentation on why should you volunteer and also introduced IkamvaYouth to the new volunteers and learners who were present. She emphasizes the need to volunteer as many employers would only consider someone who had volunteered before.
Both branches decided to have a motivation and testimonial from one of IkamvaYouth’s longest serving tutor, Mr. Percyval Mabizela, on his stay and experience hear at IY. He mentioned that he doesn’t regret waking up early in the morning on a Saturday to come and share his experience with learners from different communities and also mention that education is an important tool that a person can treasure. Speaking on behalf of the tutors, he mentioned that tutors/volunteers should be proud with their involvement with IkamvaYouth and the learners themselves.
On looking back to 2014, branch com members gave a brief feedback about their portfolios on challenges and successes they had the previous year. IkamvaYouth Ebony and Ivory Park has seven Branch Com portfolios namely, Volunteer Coordinator, Tutoring Coordinator, Mentoring, Media, Image and Expression, Career Guidance, Computer Literacy, and Discipline (Branches decided to add this to list as a portfolio). During the feedback sessions learners, tutors and staff members grouped themselves to discuss the Branch Com portfolios and how can they make them better for 2015. The focus was now shifted to the year ahead and branches set targets to achieve within a specific time frame.
The last item on the agenda was tutor training and staff members had to facilitate this session. Staff members were each given a group to facilitate tutor training. Roles plays and general discussions were implemented during tutor training sessions, whereby tutors and learners were put to the test to see if they understand how Ikamvayouth model works. Volunteers went through what is expected of them and how to conduct themselves when they interact with learners. Learners also went through their expectations.
The day ended with some encouraging words from Mrs Zvomuya by saying “it was a great event, thanks to everyone who participated it was a very productive meeting.”
Miss Mosiane had this to say “it was a well-planned event, the turnout was great and I was pleased with the way learners behaved throughout the event.”
IkamvaYouth rocking 2015!!!!
World Read Aloud Day
The 4th of March 2015 was World read aloud day. IkamvaYouth Umlazi held a small ceremony to celebrate this day (on Saturday the 14th of March as a late commemoration) with the learners as reading is a fundamental habit to the growth of a learner’s abilities to learn.
From early in the first term learners where encouraged to submit book reviews of books they have read in their spare time. This was a way that the organisation was ensuring that learners engage in reading activities outside of the school curriculum. These book reviews were to be submitted to the branch staff by the 14th of March
The best book review was announced on the day. The prize went to Sibongile Mazeka, a grade 11 learner at the branch.
Sibongile Mazeka accepting her prize from N’thabiseng Zwane (Umlazi Branch Assistant)
The next part of the small ceremony was to have random learners stand up and read aloud, as it was read aloud day. We had 3 brave young girls stand up and read in front of the whole branch.
The 3 young girls (Sinobuhle Gasa Grade 11, Thobeka Holngwa Grade9 and Snenhlanhla Nzaca Grade 11) will be awarded with merit points for their efforts. Each of them was asked to read one page from teenage novels which were donated to the branch by Fundza. One of the things that stood out was a learner name Snenhlanhla. She was fluent and seemed to enjoy reading the short story novel to the point where we had to stop her due to time constraints.
A special thanks to Fundza for donating the books to IkamvaYouth and also thank you to the learners for participating in the activities for the day.
N’thabiseng Zwane addressing learners
The year 2015 has already started with an exciting new twist as the Ebony Park mentoring programme got a huge boost by partnering with Coaches and Mentors South Africa (COMENSA). This very valuable partnership will help to answer a lot of questions we have had on how a mentoring programme should be structured for it to be a success. COMENSA, a national organisation with which all professional coaches and mentors are supposed to register with, brings with them a wealth of knowledge, experience and hope that mentoring programmes at IkamvaYouth will get more recognition especially if the mentors recruited for this task are certified and accredited to carry out the process with the learners.
On the 28th of February, Ebony Park branch launched its mentoring programme for the year and welcomed mentors from COMENSA together with Andre Retief, a COMENSA facilitator and project coodinator who conducted an orientation workshop to explain the intentions of the programme and the way it was going to run throughout the year. At the end of the workshop learners were paired with their new mentors.
Andre Retief expressed his satisfaction with the proceedings of the day and was excited to be able to assist our eager learners. He expressed that this year would be a pilot and if COMENSA management is happy with the progress they would be more than willing to extend this assistance to the other branches, starting with the Ivory Park branch next year.
This is the first of many exciting things happening at the Ebony Park branch.
The 2015 First Black Girl Code at Wits sponsored by Thought Works
On the 7th of March the Ivory Park Branch was invited to the first Black Girls Code sponsored by one of our partners Thought Works at Wits.
The workshop started with the motivation from the guest of honor by the name of Khulekani, was born and breed in Ivory Park. She is a web designer at Absa and she studied Computer Sciences at the University of Cape Town.
After breakfast the girls were introduced to the world of computer applications. They were paired for the first challenge, figure skating with instructors called Elsa and Anna. The application was divided into stages, from the 1st stage to the 20th stage and at the completion of the last stage the participant was awarded a virtual certification of completion.
13:00 lunch was served; the girls indulged in and enjoyed the served meals. Before they could resume, the girls had to do a mini ice breaker just to get them ready for the next activity. The second activity was very insightful; the people from Thought works were showing the girls how to create their own applications and robots on their own devices using the support of Android.
“The world of computers is a world full of wonders” Buhle Byl IkamvaYouth Ivory Park Grade 11.
At the end of the event, Thought Works glamoured up our girls with the t-shirts and they looked beautiful, they couldn’t stop taking photos.
IkamvaYouth Ivory Park would like to thank Thought Works for the invitation; it was really nice to be part of those who attended.
Ivory Park grade 10 learners on the 7th of March 2014 benefited from a Study Skills Workshop facilitated by Dr. Welcome Kubeka of the University of Johannesburg. Dr. Kubeka has been running these workshops since 2012, focusing mainly on grade 10 learners with the notion of building motivating learners as they cruise through high school.
‘’Our engagement with the Ikamva Youth (Ivory Park and Ebony Park) branches is on how to assist learners to study in a creative way. Hence we believe that empowering them with the academic study skills at an early stage (Grade 10) will contribute positively in their academic journey. The sessions which we offer to them cover critical study skills such as, Time management, taking notes, taking examinations (focusing on analyzing an assessment) and staying being motivated during their studies’’, says Dr. Kubeka.
His commitment and involvement with IkamvaYouth learners has seen participating learners being exceptionally focused on their school work resulting in improved marks and discipline.
“The teachings by Dr. Kubeka are motivational and skill building. I hope he continues to have these workshops with us as we learn things we never imagined in studying”, Mesile Kuthumela , a grade 10 learner who attended the workshop.
We give much thanks to Dr. Welcome Kubeka for his selfless commitment to IkamvaYouth programmes and his input in developing our learners, equipping them with life skills for a better future.
Lloyd Lungu