District Co-ordinators IkamavaYouth
IkamvaYouth is a township-based non-profit organisation, established in 2003. With branches in 7 townships nationally and a growth plan in place, IkamvaYouth seeks to appoint 3 District Co-ordinators:
– Eastern Cape based in Grahamstown
– Gauteng based in Midrand
– Western Cape based in Cape Town
S/he will be based at township, and must be an enthusiastic and pro-active social entrepreneur who is passionate about the power of education to transform lives and communities, a person who aims to make a difference.
This is an exciting opportunity to join an amazing team of change makers and to play a pivotal role in a by-youth for-youth educational movement that empowers young people to take their futures into their own hands.
Responsibilities:
- Steering the strategic direction of the district and enabling growth
- Budget development and financial management
- Manage stakeholder relationships, including funders, sponsors and the community
- Fundraising
- Producing narrative and financial reports
- Site visits to branches
- Supervise branch staff to ensure that the required outcomes are achieved
- Provide support & oversight to branch coordinators
- Represent and liaise with branch coordinators for Natcom
- Fulfill related HR functions for branches
- Ensure quality delivery of programmes and implementation of IY policies and processes at branches
An individual with excellent communications skill, both written and verbal will feel at home in this position. A background in project management or the NGO sector will be considered but is not essential. If you are driven, reactive, flexible and able to work with others to help them reach their potential, then this could be the position for you.
Please view www.ikamvayouth.org for more information about the organisation and send a CV and strong motivational letter to: zamo@ikamvayouth.org
Salary expectation R15,000 –R18,000 (Depending on experience)
Closing date 09 March for Western Cape and Gauteng position.
Closing date 30 May for Easten Cape position.
Correspondence limited to short listed candidates only. No late applications wil be considered.
Some awesome news for February 2012 – we’ve just moved our Nyanga branch from the Nyanga Library to the Zolani Centre. Check the pics below for a taste of our new space… we’ve already been busy decorating and are excited to announce that we’re upping the number of young people we’re working with in Nyanga from 60 to 90.
Tutoring is hopefully kicking off next week, but we need your help! We’re in urgent need of desks or tables to help us seat young people during their classes.
The space is ours to use in the afternoons but is used for other purposes outside of our hours, so we’re looking for some stackable/foldable trestle tables or desks which can be put away outside of class times.
Can you help? If you’ve got any tables/desks you could donate please get in touch with Asanda on asanda@ikamvayouth.org or drop him a line on 07988 54277. Please pass this along to any contacts/networks you think might be relevant – your help is hugely appreciated!
Nyanga branch has kicked off the year on a high note this weekend with an open day held at the library where early on Saturday morning the hall was full with new eager, hopeful learners all looking for a place this year. A few parents also came to show their support, as well as all the tutors and new returning grade 12s.
The morning kicked off with a brief explanation of IkamvaYouth, how it began and last year’s results from the branch, explanations of the importance of attendance and dedication for the last few years of school, tutors also took to the floor to introduce themselves as well as provide words of encouragement. A highlight of the morning was when Benfilda, a Zimbabwean girl and 2011 Grade 12 got up to speak about what IkamvaYouth has done for her, and to say goodbye. She’s been offered a full scholarship to study at St Augustines in Johannesburg this year, she is living proof for the new learners that by working hard and committing yourself to studies and hard work has amazing results and if she can do it so can they. Her lasting words to the new learners, ‘the future is in your hands!’
Another highlight of the morning was the announcement that the branch will be moving, for the past few years the Nyanga library has been home to the branch with the librarians an integral part of the operations, yet one thing that couldn’t be controlled is the crime level in Nyanga, and so with the safety of the learners and tutors at stake we’ve secured space for tutoring, an office and computer lab in the Zolani community centre. This very exciting move will be taking place this week and so by the time tutoring starts this year we’ll be completely settled and ready to get going.
And so when the new learners left on Saturday with application forms it left everyone with a sense of excitement, not only for the New Year, the new learners, the old learners taking control of their future, but of the new space, the new possibilities, the new direction the branch will be taking in 2012. Expect to be seeing only great things from us this year, it’s our time!
Makhaza branch had an opportunity to pilot a project with Education with Borders (EwB) who aims to provide improved educational opportunities and facilities in disadvantaged regions of the world. EwB focussed on our Grade 8s as the program helps lower grade learners understand basic maths principles.
The Education without Boarders (EwB) program highlights the simplicity of mathematics and emphasises the critical importance of foundational skills while acknowledging the complicated challenges and circumstances of life, which many of IkamvaYouth learners are coping with. This is has been fantastic program that promises to make a profound difference not only in learners’ maths results but also in other areas such as boosting their confidence in their existing abilities. This allows learners to approach new learning experiences with a much more confident focus on learning. And that makes them much easier to tutor.
The two dedicated tutors who gave all their tutoring time to the EwB programme, Nicholas Mei and Braam Daniels say from their experience that while they are essentially tutoring maths they noticed a huge improvement in the confidence and attitude of the learners toward their school work. The environment and culture of IkamvaYouth and the EWB programme creates a holistic approach which rather than just “teaching” learners it enables them to become aware of their inner ability to teach and learn for themselves. So while the focus has been on maths, the deeper things the learners have learned have manifested in all academic areas as it provides these learners with everything they need.
To determine the impact of the program, the class average of maths results achieved by the learners during the year was compared to the average maths result achieved by the entire grade of the two dominant local schools (i.e. Chris Hani High and Harry Gwala High). The comparison is shown below in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Figure 1: Comparison of the average EWB Grade 8 learner result to the local schools’ average grade result.
Figure 1 shows that not only did the EwB program learners consistently outperform their local schools but they also showed a greater overall improvement in their maths mark when comparing the 1st and 3rd term results. The EWB class’s school maths average improved by 19.6% while the local school only showed a 4.75% improvement.
The EwB programme has played a huge role in helping learners improve academically, not only in mathematics, but it has also trained the learners to be able to approach any kind of question without them struggling. It has helped them gain confidence in approaching maths questions and most of all it has taught them on how to work as a group.
So while sharpening basic math foundation skills with the EwB content and challenging the learners as cooperative groups with basic algebra problems, in a consequence-free learning. The program has already begun to be implemented with the next group of grade 8s in 2012, as well as implementing an English language component and looking to expand to other branched.
Well done to our learners for these amazing results and to EwB
ewb_program_report_iymakhaza_dec2011.pdfewb_program_report_iymakhaza_dec2011.pdf
One of Makhaza’s tutors was lucky enough to be involved with Dance4Life and RedZebra Foundation which uses creative facilitation techniques, dialogue tools, bottom up processes as well as music and rhythm to deliver powerful experiences for the young people. The approach is youth friendly and centered around the notion that
Dance for life is a dynamic international initiative that involves young people; it encourages them to use their voices in stopping the further spread of HIV/AIDS and breaking down the stigma and taboos that surround the pandemic. Its approach covers all aspects of popular youth culture: media, language, icons music and especially dance. Dance is a universal language and through Dance4life young people dance with a cause. During the Schools4Life project (visiting schools and run workshops), which is the heart of the concept, they acquire the knowledge and life skills they need to protect themselves, while motivated to inform their peers and take action to improve young people reproduction health and rights.
By involving youth, it’s possible to change not only their behavior but also to mobilize them to create social change in their communities so that others change their behavior and perceptions as well. Dance4Life strives to empower young people to unleash their leadership potential, including young people living with HIV.
Ayanda Sawulisi, a past IkamvaYouth learner at the Makhaza branch, now a committed tutor participated for the week’s training and has this to say, ‘Well I got involve in the Dance4life project via Ikamva Youth. I got interested in the program because I love to work with young people and being the person that I am who is involved in the entertainment industry, I believe that I can use my skills and elevate dance4life project to new heights.
I also joined because Dance4life’s tool of getting the message across is very unique and inclusive ways though dance, music, spoken word etc which are my areas of interest. The training was great; it was very informative in terms of leadership skills and how to run workshops. It was full of energy, skills exchanging and creativity. Most of all I enjoyed to learn the dance which was the core element of the program and I was blessed to be amongst individuals who are very talented and who are in the virtue of becoming young leaders. The dance will help me in a way that I will be able to teach others but most of all to teach them the message behind the dance and it also help in terms of fitness/health because you sweat very much!’
Big up to Peter Schaupp and RedZebra Foundation for the opportunity!
![From Cape Town to the University of Free State…]()
Cape Town Bus station on Saturday the 28th of January at 6.00, 4 excited students left the Mother City to join the University of Free State in Bloemfontein.
From left to the right: Buhle Mashiyi is starting a 5 year Bachelor of Law, Zintle Mtakati has been enrolled for a Baccalaureus of Social Sciences Extended programme in Human and Societal Dynamics, Cebisa Mtyhobile is studying a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Social Work and Simphiwe Simo enrolled for the Baccalaureus degree in Social sciences in Nursing.
The first 2 students, Zintle and Buhle, has been part of the programme since 2008 and concretise their dreams in studying Social sciences and Law. Cebisa and Simphiwe have been previously selected and interviewed by Masiphumelele Corporation to access a bursary.
None of this would have happened if Professor Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Free State, hadn’t promised to accommodate 4 students with full-bursaries. All the IkamvaYouth team is very grateful. Thank you very much for these awesome opportunities.
We look forward to all four of you reaching your career goals, thanks to studying at UFS. You make us feel proud!
Lloyd Lungu