The last day of winter school is usually a day where everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that everything went well, surpassed the minor challenges that go with winter school and having survived the 2weeks however for the KZN region we had to give it one last push. Last year we hosted a sports day in collaboration with ABI and this year it was decided that we would take it up a notch and have a Health Awareness Day. Once again, ABI came on board and participated on the day, by providing the sporting equipment, drinks, as well as joining in the day’s activities.
The Durban weather was close enough to disappointing everybody involved as the rain had us biting our nails, the hours went on and as we waited for the rain to clear, we decided to have an impromptu talent show and learners began showcasing their talents through artwork presentations, comedy skit, music and poetry all in relation to the winter school theme (My future is my hands) they had been given in their MIE programme they had participated in throughout the 2weeks.
The health awareness day had various organisations come in and provide support, providing information and screening opportunities for various health issues. Sexual health information and HIV testing and counseling was provided by CAPRISA, and general health assessments (blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and BMI) were done by Old Mutual, while eye testing was done by Spec Savers. The learners showed interest and eagerly participated in all of these different services.
The sports aspect of the day was really the big moment for everyone; all learners had been divided into 6 groups, made up by the rainbow colours…well most. Each group was given a plain white t-shirt to design and come up with a war cry that they felt would represent their teams and show excellent team spirit and indeed the war cry’s showcased exactly that. All 6 teams raised the bar each time they were on stage and left us, who were watching, wanting more.
Passion and excitement filled the netball and soccer fields as the different teams all played for a win. Volunteers, ABI staff and learners all cheered their respective teams on. The sports was not only limited to netball and soccer, traditional township games such as amagende, magalobhe and shumpu that the learners grew up playing in the passages of their townships were accommodated for. In the end, irrespective of only one team being winners we all celebrated and danced like winners. The day proved to everybody that come rain or sunshine IY always achieves its objective through partnership and collaboration from everybody involved and that is what team work looks like!
Entering the second week of Winter School 2013 was exciting for all KZN Ikamvanites, we had gotten the hang of things. The first week had been exciting, challenging and a lot of fun. Learners were looking forward with anticipation to what was in store for them for week two.
Tutoring continued as usual, in the mornings with activities and talks planned for the afternoon sessions. In this the second week, the Love Life Mpintshis continued to give valuable life lessons to learners, while DSW came in to speak about waste management and gave away prizes to those learners who participated actively in the waste management talk. Media, Image and Expression workshops were held where we saw learners learning to express themselves in ways they knew how, ranging from poetry to acting, singing and dressing up in a way that represented their personalities.
The last group of learners did the amazing race, this was the best group by far. They complained, they cried, they argued but they kept going at it. This race taught many of life’s lessons which I don’t think the learners noticed at the time but there were lessons to be learnt like working as a team, persevering and accountability just to mention a few.
The matrics were fortunate to be afforded a chance to watch the movies of the set books they are reading in English. We had Shakespeare’s Othello, Nothing But The Truth and Animal Farm playing for the learners. This was aimed at assisting them to get a better understanding of the books through a visual medium. The English lecturers were also there to assist them with any questions they may have had. For those who don’t do any of the above mentioned books we entertained them with a movie “My Name is Khan”. The lessons in this movie ranged from perseverance to going after what you believe in to kindness being rewarded and the truth being able to set you free. Again the matrics were taken through a financial literacy workshop by Capitec. This was seen as a very important tool for them as they would not only be equipped academically for the “big bad world” but they would also have financial health knowledge. Grade 11 learners had the opportunity to write a Maths Test also supplied by Capitec to gauge their levels of literacy in Maths.
We were also graced by the visit of our National Coordinator, Zamo Shongwe, who came in for two days in the second week. She really just reminded us of why we were there as staff and volunteers and encouraged us to continue pressing on. She also firmly reminded us that we should carry ourselves in a way that is admirable and that the learners can take a pattern from with regards to behavior, the way we speak to each other and to learners, dress code (no caps indoors) and drawing the line between learner and adult.
When we came to the end of week 2, we were tired and drained but content, our goal had been achieved. There were no major setbacks and we all took something away from this experience.
After the wonderful first week of Masiphumelele Winter School, both learners and tutors were expecting more from our colorful workshops for the second week. We have had some new workshops this week covering interesting topics as Environmental Protection, Sexual Violence, Academic Writing, Debate, and more. On Thursday, learners wowed the tutors with their ability to craft intelligent arguments in a short amount of time during the Debate workshop. In Academic Writing, we learned about Plagiarism and how to correctly cite sources in our writing.
We were lucky to have Black Sash, an organization works to advance equality, social justice and human rights to give a special workshop on some key social problems. Wire Works with Frederick gave learners an opportunity to use wires and beads to create works of art. Other learners went to Fish Hoek beach to clean and recycle garbage.
Beyond these sessions, learners also participated in some workshops more focused on their own future. CPUT Engineering Department and Stellenbosch University came to our Winter School to introduce their academic programs and encourage some learners to apply. Capitec Bank held a whole-morning session on Tuesday to give career guidance, CV skills and financial knowledge to our young learners. And on Wednesday, Inspired Inc gave a very passionate speech on having a vision and dream for one’s life. Learners tried to project their vision and their plan to reach that vision. We love these sessions, because Winter School is not only about academic progress, but also about equipping our learners for the future and empowering them to reach their dreams.
Learners also concluded the week by taking time to write thank you notes to those who have helped make this week possible, including Pick n Pay (who provided our lunches!) and False Bay College (who provided the venue for our Winter School!). As we look forward to our Talent Show with the other Ikamva Youth branches tomorrow, we are grateful and happy for a great two weeks of learning and growing alongside one another. One of our tutors, Lauren, put it well when she said,
“Winter School is designed not only to inspire the kids but also to inspire tutors to continue our work to put them on a path towards a better life. If one of these students can succeed in that task, I’ll know that I’ve done my job.”
After the wonderful first week of Masiphumelele Winter School, both learners and tutors were expecting more from our colorful workshops for the second week. We have had some new workshops this week covering interesting topics as Environmental Protection, Sexual Violence, Academic Writing, Debate, and more. On Thursday, learners wowed the tutors with their ability to craft intelligent arguments in a short amount of time during the Debate workshop. In Academic Writing, we learned about Plagiarism and how to correctly cite sources in our writing.
We were lucky to have Black Sash, an organization works to advance equality, social justice and human rights to give a special workshop on some key social problems. Wire Works with Frederick gave learners an opportunity to use wires and beads to create works of art. Other learners went to Fish Hoek beach to clean and recycle garbage.
Beyond these sessions, learners also participated in some workshops more focused on their own future. CPUT Engineering Department and Stellenbosch University came to our Winter School to introduce their academic programs and encourage some learners to apply. Capitec Bank held a whole-morning session on Tuesday to give career guidance, CV skills and financial knowledge to our young learners. And on Wednesday, Inspired Inc gave a very passionate speech on having a vision and dream for one’s life. Learners tried to project their vision and their plan to reach that vision. We love these sessions, because Winter School is not only about academic progress, but also about equipping our learners for the future and empowering them to reach their dreams.
Learners also concluded the week by taking time to write thank you notes to those who have helped make this week possible, including Pick n Pay (who provided our lunches!) and False Bay College (who provided the venue for our Winter School!). As we look forward to our Talent Show with the other Ikamva Youth branches tomorrow, we are grateful and happy for a great two weeks of learning and growing alongside one another. One of our tutors, Lauren, put it well when she said,
“Winter School is designed not only to inspire the kids but also to inspire tutors to continue our work to put them on a path towards a better life. If one of these students can succeed in that task, I’ll know that I’ve done my job.”
Nyanga Winter School 2013 came to an end on a high note as learners took time to give votes of thanks to the tutors and the workshop facilitators who provided 25 different workshops over the past 10 days.
Week 2 has been abuzz with activity as learners participated in more tutoring in the various school subjects and in more workshops, in Physics and Chemistry, Technology & Engineering, Business & Entrepreneurship, leadership, health and life skills, creative expression, the environment and media & journalism.
Live Magazine spoke to the learners about youth involvement at the magazine. Learners accessed useful career guidance information, namely that they can intern with Live Magazine for a period of 6 months post-Matric, before moving on to either tertiary education or employment. The group also made videos of themselves interviewing one another, which was both a fun and educational activity.
The Physical Sciences learners participated in what has become IYWC’s annual Chemistry experiments workshop at UCT, organised and run by board member, Thobela Bixa. The young chemists did a workshop on temperature and the rate of reaction, with the assistance of their tutors, who helped them throughout the process.
ERM also came and did a stimulating workshop on how to conserve the environment. Learners made colourful green-charts where they outlined their unique understanding on conserving the natural environment.
Werner Myburgh of Sunstep Technologies conducted Technology experiments and the learners made sonic alarms and amplifiers. This was a fascinating workshop for learners; one of whom said that it was exciting for her to see a real functioning alarm emerge from the work of her hands.
Nyanganites also got to benefit from IY’s value of paying-it-forward, as former Nyanganite, Unathi Basoni came to conduct a Business and Entrepreneurship workshop, where he spoke about finances in the home environment. He spoke to the learners about the different social grants available to citizens and the different ways of accessing grant payouts. This workshop was really useful and relevant to the learners as social grants are a source of income in many of their households.
SACTWU conducted a very informative workshop on HIV and AIDS, with free HIV counseling and testing afterwards. More than 50 learners got tested and one of the learners said the following to Tamara, who conducted the tests:
‘’I am very grateful that you came to teach us about HIV and to give us tests because people don’t talk to us about getting tested and how to keep ourselves from getting HIV. ‘’
The Safety Lab came to conduct Safety Awareness workshops in light of the high crime rates in Nyanga and surrounding areas, where our learners are predominantly from. This opened the platform up for learners to speak about their experiences with crime and violence in the community, and engage collectively, with the assistance of other youth who are working towards making the communities a safer place.
All in all, it has been a great Winter School and our Nyanga thanks all its partners and collaborators who have made this year’s Winter School a success.
We greatly value all the workshops you provided for the learners during this time and look forward to collaborating again in the near and distant future.
Lloyd Lungu