After the incredible first day of Winter School, everyone was excited about what the second day will bring. Like the first day, everyone met at the Science Faculty around 9 am. The Agenda for the day was discussed and feedback from students and tutors was taken. The Learners were satisfied with what they learnt and how the previous day went. Around 9.30 am, the learners were taken to the Arts Block. The day began with the workshop from Capitec Bank. Learners were exposed to the skills that the employers look for in applicants and career guidance was provided with resume writing, interview tips and so on. In one of the grade 8 classes, English was the subject of the day. After this, tutors did another exercise and asked them to spell and write words on the blackboard.
Then the lunch break was announced and everyone was excited about what they will get for lunch today. After that it was time for the workshops. We had Andrea who was running history workshop which it was very interesting to the learners. She was lecturing on the different government styles in different parts of the world. She told the students about the importance of knowing about history, different cultures and how they have shaped the world we live in. After the workshop finished, one of the learners said, “She feels that she knows so much more about Africa now and the struggle some countries went through including South Africa to be what it is today.” WE also had reel lives workshop. They are using media to support education, empowerment and social change. Learners got the opportunity to watch videos that were made by other Ikamvanites.
A grade 11 learners said that I am real enjoying winter school especial tutoring.
Today was the first day of winter school, the day all the learners, tutors and volunteers were waiting for! You could see the excitement on the faces of everyone that arrived at Upper Campus on Monday. This week the learners are based in the Arts Block on Upper Campus at UCT. We have a lot of international volunteers helping us this year from all over the world – Hong Kong, India, Canada, the Netherlands, China, as well as many ex matrics from 2012 coming back as first time tutors.
One of our grade 8 learners said, “ I loved coming to UCT with my friends this morning – we had a great time in the bus. Seeing these amazing buildings and the campus motivates me to get great marks and get a degree in Science from UCT – I’m se excited for winter school!”
Thi week we have various workshops happening, one of the very contentious ones were when students were divided into two groups and were asked to debate for/against on topics like HIV Testing, legalisation of drugs and life imprisonment. I was surprised to hear some of the issues that learners brought up, showing the knowledge and reasoning skills they posses.
Other workshops this week are centred around various subjects – Science and Technology, Media and Journalism, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Helath and Life Skills and Creative Expression. On Monday I was in the Entrepreneurship workshop that was held by Justin, an Entrepreneur and a manager of a Consulting company. He said, “I am very excited about lecturing to these students today. I had a similar childhood and did not come from a wealthy family. A lot of these students may end up being future entrepreneurs like me. Its just a push, confidence and awareness they need.”
Capitec bank provided a morning workshop where learners were exposed to the skills that the employers look for in applicants and career guidance was provided with resume writing and interview skills. Andrea Sanke is running history workshop for the 2 weeks which is was very interesting to the learners. This week she was lecturing on the different government styles in different parts of the world. She told the students about the importance of knowing about history, different cultures and how they have shaped the world we live in. One of the learners said, “I feel that I know so much more about Africa now and the struggle some countries went through including South Africa to be what it is today.” This week Reel Lives are also providing workshops – they are using media to support education, empowerment and social change. Learners got the opportunity to watch videos that were made by other Ikamvanites.
This is just a taste of what has happened at the beginning of last week, we are so excited for what is to come!
If you are interested in seeing what we are up to please contact:
Zukile – 079 885 4364
Zukile@ikamvayouth.org
On Tuesday afternoon, in the plush settings of the Emoyeni Conference Centre in Parktown, Johannesburg, the Mail and Guardian launched their annual 200 Young South Africans special edition – and for the third year in a row, an Ikamvanite was on the list!
The event was filled with some of SA’s best and brightest young people, dressed up to the nines. Champage flowed, MC Loyiso Gola cracked jokes, and much networking was had by all. But the real highlight was seeing our amazing Gauteng District Coordinator Patrick Mashanda get some of the recognition he so richly deserves. Patrick has been changing the lives of young men and women in South Africa since long before he joined IkamvaYouth, and his impact is only going to grow from here.
Patrick can be found on page 43 of the Mail and Guardian supplement, in the education section. Grab yourself a copy, and be inspired!
IkamvaYouth equips learners from disadvantaged communities with the knowledge, skills, networks and resources to access tertiary education and/or employment opportunities once they matriculate. It is a great place for youth that are aiming high in life, who wish to reach great things in future. However, learners who suffer from personal or emotional problems are less likely to succeed academically, stay in school, and develop a love of learning. Some of the Ikamvanites reported a lot of challenges that they experience in their daily lives and requested for assistance.
Ikageng Branch joined forces with Family And Marriage Society of South Africa (FAMSA) to address personal and emotional challenges experienced by Ikamvanites. FAMSA is an organization that aims to empower people to reconstruct, build and maintain a sound quality of life. The purpose of the collaboration is to provide Ikamvanites with support to help them succeed socially, emotionally, and academically. FAMSA committed to provide individual counseling, support groups as well as interactive workshops. The ultimate goal is to promote academic success, enhance health, and prevent behavioral problems.
On the 06 of June 2013 Ikageng Branch held an interactive discussion session with the FAMSA team, lead by Ms Rhulani. The session involved a discussion about common issues facing township youths; risky behaviors and unhealthy choices. Ikageng learners reported a lot of challenges experienced by the youth in the Ikageng Township. Ms Rhulani thereafter introduced the concept of a support group as a group that presents information, provides comfort, teaches coping skills, helps reduce anxiety, and provides a place for people to share common concerns and emotional support. Ikamvanites were keen on partaking in the group.
FAMSA volunteered to run workshops during Winter School. They will run workshops within an allocated activity stream. They requested the branch to prepare topics for the workshops, FAMSA suggested topics such as:
- Life Skills
- Self Growth & Development
- Relationship Workshop
- Conflict Management and Problem Solving Techniques
- Emotional Intelligence
- Time Management
- Self Awareness and Awareness of others
- HIV awareness and prevention programs
The interactive workshops will include the use of training tools such as charts, role plays, group discussions and sometimes video footage, the aim is to empower young people in the decisions they will have to make both in the present and in the future.
A very special thank you to FAMSA for joining forces with IkamvaYouth in addressing learners’ social and emotional needs and connect such supports to stronger academic achievement.
In order to comply with the Health & Safety Regulations, on the 1st of June 2013, IkamvaYouth’s Ikageng Branch participated in a Fire Safety Awareness workshop. The workshop provided employees, learners as well as the volunteers with essential knowledge about fire safety, how to prevent fire from starting as well as what actions to take if fire does break out.
The workshop was conducted by the Shakaneng Skills Provider Emergency Service, represented by the Training Coordinator Mr. Mahlangu. The Ikamvanites gathered in their usual tutoring venue at Thembalidanisi School and learnt interesting and important realities about fire.
The workshop covered useful practices to engage in when working with fire, including how to handle live flame, first aid when someone has been subjected to burns and the reporting protocol when there is fire. Ikamvanites had an opportunity to practice extinguishing live fire using fire extinguishers.
Mr. Mahlangu further enlightened us on various career paths within the fire and rescue fields, ranging from administration, management, medical to paramedical and firefighting and pointed out that there are lots of skills shortages in this career field. Ikamvanites had many questions about the subject choices required in order to work in this field and also the benefits of being a fire-fighter.
The session was very interactive and the Ikamvanites were able to simulate scenarios, like rolling on the ground when you catch fire, and were shown charts of what to do. All the Ikamvanites were told where their closest fire station is and were instructed to call 10177 or 0184627219 in case of a fire or any other emergency.
We would like to thank the Shakaneng Emergency Service and everyone that assisted with this workshop. We look forward to the firefighter training.
Knowledge is power and Information is liberating!!!
Lloyd Lungu