“It takes a village to raise a child… IkamvaYouth has been a second parent to my child, guiding and mentoring him to become disciplined and improve his marks. ”, said Mrs Khumalo, a parent for Mbuso Khumalo, a grade 11 learner who won a school bag for Best attendance Male learner award on the Ivory Park Open day prize giving event.
Parents poured in on the 7th of March 2015 to find out the truth behind the IkamvaYouth programmes their children are committed to at the Ivory Park branch. The meeting which was dominated by presentations, questions, testimonies and discussions between parents and IkamvaYouth staff provided a vision and reason for parents to actively participate through support to their children to be disciplined and focus as well as improving attendance to keep their spot at IkamvaYouth as there is much benefit through it. 85 parents attended the meeting marking the highest parents meeting attendance since 2014 when the branch had many challenges. Most of the attendants were parents of the newly enrolled learners as they were eager to learn more about IkamvaYouth.
There was high participation and energy within the parents making the meeting effective with some strategic planning to improve branch operations. The parents agreed to support IkamvaYouth by keeping in touch with IkamvaYouth staff reporting and inquiring about every challenges and successes they notice with our learners. Agreement was reached as well that the parents would report anything with regards to learner attendance which will lessen learner administration workload on IkamvaYouth staff.
Issues of indemnity we also discussed and parents were informed about the importance of signing indemnity forms ahead of special events and travel for leaners initiated by IkamvaYouth. Great support was promised with parents agreeing to monitor and enforce the learners to attend winter school fully and also encouraging grade 12 learners to attend the best of the time they get outside the SSIP programme. Parents encouraged IkamvaYouth staff to compile a list of all learners who attend IkamvaYouth programmes and have the list kept at schools or pasted on school staffrooms for educators to release the learners for IkamvaYouth programmes where school afternoon classes bind learners’ attendance.
Dr Welcome Kubaka from University of Johannesburg blessed the meeting with some words of motivation to parents testifying that he grew up in Tembisa Township from a very poor background and still used every opportunity he got to rise up to prominence. The next parents meeting was scheduled for the sixth of June 2015 with follow up matters being discussed regarding set goals and targets. Great thanks to parents for their support over IkamvaYouth programmes and response to IkamvaYouth meetings which propels us to greater achievements through their input to successfully operate.
Simplice Kamen-Payong, one of our longest serving volunteer tutors shared a touching testimony to parents of how he changed his profession to teaching. Kamen Completed his Masters in Business and Financial Management with UJ and is curently doing a Diploma in Teaching. According to Kameni, he got touched by the poor educational conditions in Ivory Park Township and with the love he received from Ikamvanites, he felt he could do better teaching kids to enlighten their futures.
Towards the end of last year, IkamvaYouth embarked on an exciting and learning filled pilot programme with the Western Cape Government to implement the IY model in 2 high schools in the province with 8 volunteers. It is through the experiences and learnings in this pilot that the reach has expanded to 8 high schools, just under 800 learners and implemented with 35 volunteers to deliver high-impact after-school tutoring programmes in secondary schools in the Western Cape while developing the skills and proficiencies of young leaders.
The Year Beyond programme is adding value to the school’s MOD Centres by increasing the range of after-school activities to include an academic arm. The programme, working with grades 8-10 in each school includes IkamvaYouth model tutoring and tech-assisted English and Maths tuition through FunDza and Olico respectively.
The project will attract just under 800 learners who are all eager to take their futures into their own hands. They are supported in this after-school space by a fantastic bunch of change makers who come from all walks of life but share a passion for youth and development. These young graduates are paying-it-forward by volunteering their time to serve as role models for these aspiring learners.
These volunteers have just completed 2 weeks of intensive IkamvaYouth training where they received in depth tutor and tech assisted programme training, visited branches, participated in conflict resolution workshops, spent time in their schools and met MOD centre coaches, all while developing their teams; identifying and honing the leadership skills needed to work in their school and with their learners. They are now recruiting learners and building strong relationships in their schools to ensure the success of the programme through school and parent buy-in.
The involvement of numerous organisations, departments and people has produced an exciting collaborative approach to youth development. IkamvaYouth is a value based organisation and one of the core principles is peer-to-peer support and collaboration. To see this happening on a large scale with governmental involvement is a huge step for IkamvaYouth in reaching its 2030 vision. It is hoped that this form of government – non-government partnership can become a model for operation in order to reach more learners with high-quality after-school programmes across the country.
Vision 2030 was conceived by IkamvaYouth in 2012, which is the vision to see every grade 1 learner who starts school in 2018 to matriculate or the equivalent by 2030, and to access a post-school opportunity of their choice that sets them on the path to earn a dignified living. This is an audacious goal and one that requires many hands and minds.
The Year Beyond programme offers an opportunity to engage in true collaboration towards a common goal. It is hoped that this is the first of many partnerships that will open the doors of after-school programmes to young people all across the country.
For more information about Year Beyond, IkamvaYouth and how we can work together to enable more learners to achieve their dreams please contact liesel@ikamvayouth.org or zukile@ikamvayouth.org
The main tutoring hall at the IkamvaYouth Chesterville branch was packed to the brim as we had our open day and prize giving ceremony. Amongst our guests were the parents, current Ikamvanites, aspiring Ikamvanites, our local librarian, and our dedicated tutors as well as staff from both the KZN branches of Umlazi and Chesterville. The guests were eager to know more about IkamvaYouth and to celebrate those Ikamvanites who performed well in the programme for the year 2014.
Our learners also participated in the programme, with two of our matric learners Lindokuhle Mbili and Lipuma Thabethe being our MC’s for the day. The speakers of the day were Thandazo Mkhize (Chesterville Branch Co-ordinator), and Zandile Dlamini (Chesterville Branch Assistant) who gave an overview of what IY is about as a whole.
Thankfully, IY has many talented learners some of which were able to provide us with entertainment for the day with poetry and rhythmic rap music. We also had speakers from different walks of life. One of our past learners, Andiswa Tshabalala, from the class of 2014 was one of our speakers, she gave a very heartfelt speech about her experience at IY as well as where she is currently in life and her studies. Our other special guest Mzwandile Majola, a librarian from the local library spoke very well about the importance of reading and also encouraged the learners to read and visit the library more often for information.
Speeches were not the only items on the program. Our special Prize Giving ceremony had to be the highlight of the day. Led by N’thabiseng Zwane, branch assistant at the Umlazi branch, certificates as well as prize gifts were awarded to learners that achieved 90% and above on attendance as platinum attendance, 75% and above as Gold attendance while others received certificates for successfully completing the operation fikelela programme in 2014. It would’ve been a shame to honor the learners and leave behind our tutors, so the most dedicated tutor of the year was also awarded with a certificate of appreciation, which went Nokukhanya Ngcobo who also delivered a lovely speech on behalf of the tutors.
In closing, S’bonelo Cele, branch coordinator at the Umlazi branch, gave us a closing remark and vote of thanks speech to everyone who availed themselves for the event and more especially to our special guests, who were given a small gift as a token of our appreciation.
During last year IkamvaYouth embarked on an exciting and learning filled pilot programme with the Western Cape Government to implement the IY model in 2 high schools in the province with 8 volunteers. It is through the experiences and learnings in this pilot that it has now expanded the reach of the programme to 8 high schools and being implemented with 35 volunteers to deliver high-impact after-school tutoring programmes in secondary schools in the Western Cape while developing the skills and proficiencies of young leaders.
The Year Beyond programme is adding value to the school’s MOD Centres by increasing the range of after-school activities to include an academic arm. The programme, working with grades 8-10 in each school includes IkamvaYouth model tutoring and tech-assisted English and Maths tuition through Fundza and Olico respectively.
The project will attract over 700 learners who are all eager to take their futures into their own hands. They are supported in this after-school space by a fantastic bunch of change makers who come from all walks of life but share a passion for youth and development. These young graduates are paying-it-forward by volunteering their time to serve as role models for these aspiring learners.
These volunteers have just completed 2 weeks of intensive IkamvaYouth training where they received in depth tutor and tech assisted programme training, visited branches, participated in conflict resolution workshops, spent time in their schools and met MOD centre coaches, all while developing their teams, identifying and honing the leadership skills needed to work in their school and with their learners.. They are now recruiting learners and building strong relationships in their schools to ensure the success of the programme through school and parent buy-in.
The involvement of numerous organisations, departments and people has produced an exciting collaborative approach to youth development. IkamvaYouth is a value based organisation and one of the core principles is peer-to-peer support and collaboration. To see this happening on a large scale with governmental involvement is a huge step for IkamvaYouth in reaching its 2030 vision. It is hoped that this form of government – non-government partnership can become a model for operation in order to reach more learners with high-quality after-school programmes across the country.
Vision 2030 was conceived by IkamvaYouth in 2012, which is the vision to see every grade 1 learner who starts school in 2018 to matriculate or the equivalent by 2030, and to access a post-school opportunity of their choice that sets them on the path to earn a dignified living. This is an audacious goal and one that requires many hands and minds.
The Year Beyond project offers an opportunity to engage in true collaboration towards a common goal. It is hoped that this is the first of many partnerships that will open the doors of after-school programmes to young people all across the country.
For more information on the Year Beyond project, IkamvaYouth and how we can work together to enable more learners to achieve their dreams please contact liesel@ikamvayouth.org or zoe@ikamvayouth.org.
During last year IkamvaYouth embarked on an exciting and learning filled pilot programme with the Western Cape Government to implement the IY model in 2 high schools in the province with 8 volunteers. It is through the experiences and learnings in this pilot that it has now expanded the reach of the programme to 8 high schools and being implemented with 35 volunteers to deliver high-impact after-school tutoring programmes in secondary schools in the Western Cape while developing the skills and proficiencies of young leaders.
The Year Beyond programme is adding value to the school’s MOD Centres by increasing the range of after-school activities to include an academic arm. The programme, working with grades 8-10 in each school includes IkamvaYouth model tutoring and tech-assisted English and Maths tuition through Fundza and Olico respectively.
The project will attract over 700 learners who are all eager to take their futures into their own hands. They are supported in this after-school space by a fantastic bunch of change makers who come from all walks of life but share a passion for youth and development. These young graduates are paying-it-forward by volunteering their time to serve as role models for these aspiring learners.
These volunteers have just completed 2 weeks of intensive IkamvaYouth training where they received in depth tutor and tech assisted programme training, visited branches, participated in conflict resolution workshops, spent time in their schools and met MOD centre coaches, all while developing their teams, identifying and honing the leadership skills needed to work in their school and with their learners.. They are now recruiting learners and building strong relationships in their schools to ensure the success of the programme through school and parent buy-in.
The involvement of numerous organisations, departments and people has produced an exciting collaborative approach to youth development. IkamvaYouth is a value based organisation and one of the core principles is peer-to-peer support and collaboration. To see this happening on a large scale with governmental involvement is a huge step for IkamvaYouth in reaching its 2030 vision. It is hoped that this form of government – non-government partnership can become a model for operation in order to reach more learners with high-quality after-school programmes across the country.
Vision 2030 was conceived by IkamvaYouth in 2012, which is the vision to see every grade 1 learner who starts school in 2018 to matriculate or the equivalent by 2030, and to access a post-school opportunity of their choice that sets them on the path to earn a dignified living. This is an audacious goal and one that requires many hands and minds.
The Year Beyond project offers an opportunity to engage in true collaboration towards a common goal. It is hoped that this is the first of many partnerships that will open the doors of after-school programmes to young people all across the country.
For more information on the Year Beyond project, IkamvaYouth and how we can work together to enable more learners to achieve their dreams please contact liesel@ikamvayouth.org or zoe@ikamvayouth.org.
Lloyd Lungu