60 tutors from both Ivory Park and Ebony Park branches came together on Saturday the 16th of November to be appreciated by IkamvaYouth. The day started off with normal tutoring from 9am to 12pm, thereafter , all the tutors were transported to the tutor appreciation venue called Wild Waters in Boksburg.
The day was filled with loads of fun, laughter, conversation, eating and drinking. Many tutors mentioned that they had never seen such a beautiful place and they had no idea that a place like this existed in Johannesburg. This venue was full of different types of water fun activities and the tutors could not pull themselves out of the refreshing water. Patrick Mashanda, the District Coordinator, also addressed all the tutors expressing how important they were to IkamvaYouth, reiterating that the work they put in has made a huge difference to many lives. It was a memorable day with many tutors saying that they felt very appreciated for the hard work they put into tutoring the learners.
Eventually we marked the end of the day by handing out certificates of appreciation to all the tutors. We appreciate all our tutors and we are already looking forward to starting 2014 with an even bigger bang!
On 3rd October 2013 at the celebration of IkamvaYouth’s 10th Anniversary, we had the chance to share Funeka’s Story with Minister Trevor Manuel, our response to the National Planning Com story of Thandi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIiRsFYsRcg). While Thandi’s story illustrates the challenges facing the country and the poor outcomes that the majority of South African youth can expect, Funeka’s Story tells a different story, one of hope, and offers a solution to our education crisis. Minister Manuel was moved to call Funeka’s story, a “story of change”, and went on to say, ” You are the change, the model that works. (Your programme) must be taken forward.”
Funeka (in pink) waiting to greet Trevor Manuel at IkamvaYouth’s 10 year celebration
Watch this updated version of Funeka’s Story (below) which explains the IkamvaYouth model and the positive impact that our organisation is having on the future for young people participating in our youth-to-youth programme. Share in our Vision 2030 which aims to bring this model to ALL young people people in South Africa. Contact us to get involved and make this vision a reality.
A BIG THANK YOU goes to:
- Funeka, for sharing your story and being such a professional voice-over artist!
- Dan Eppel who recorded and mixed the sound
- Freshly Ground for donating the tunes
- the staff and interns who helped behind the scenes,
and especially to:
Lynne Stuart for applying her design talents to explain what we do so concisely and beautifully!
[video:http://youtu.be/cJDM8LR6-9c]
As the hectic exam season went underway, our funders and good friends from ABI decided to throw a good luck braai and cake day for all the grade 12 learners in Gauteng. It was a much needed break from the current pressure our learners are facing in preparing years of hard work and achievements into one busy month. Our learners have been hard at work, studying at home and attending workshops both at school and those organised by IY to make sure that all this work culminates in good results for their futures.
From all the Ikamvanites around South Africa here’s to wishing all our grade 12s the best of luck.
Keep soaring superheroes !
The Gauteng team was out in full force at the Midrand Graduate Institutes Career Fair in early October. As an opportunity to, not only advertise the most democratic organisation to work in, we also got the very talented and driven students to sign up as volunteers at the nearby branches in the area.
MGI, like many of the higher learning institutions IkamvaYouth continues to grow partnerships with, jumped at the opportunity to get involved with us and came out in large numbers to support our drive. Many had never heard of IY before, but were very interested to find out how they can volunteer their time and become part of such a winning superhero team.
IY relies on the many committed tutors from all over South Africa’s Higher Learning institutions and if you are looking to become part of this amazing opportunity visit our website and sign up online or wait for a tutor drive coming to your varsity soon!
Early on Saturday morning, 28 September, Makhaza learners joined many other learners from around Cape Town at the Khayelitsha Multi-Purpose Hall. The unconventional is presented by Rethink Leardership which is an opportunity to see presentations by amazing social innovators and to interact with them. It is where they were able to share ideas with other learners from different schools and be their creative selves. The diverse group of individuals shared their ideas about how to tackle issues that affect their communities.
Ndilisa May a grade 11 learner spoke about the event, “Unconventional was a great platform for us because we had a chance to talk to awesome young innovators and to share ideas with them. The exciting part was that some of the IkamvaYouth learners were given a chance to share information about their Community Action Projects. It was inspiring as many are willing to take time and make a positive change in their communities.” The programme is about bringing out the leadership skills that all these learners possess and using these skills to better their lives and the communities they come from.
“Communication was being highlighted, because in order to know something you have to interact with others, it is also easy to work with other people when you have communication skills. You achieve better results when you work with people rather than alone”, said Talitha Maliti a grade 11 learner.
It was a day well spent for the learners of Makhaza as they commended the event as a success.
Lloyd Lungu