Ikageng set a goal to continually improve our results and maintain positive momentum throughout the year!
Ikamvanites Visiting the CCBSA’s Devland Manufacturing Plant
Throughout the second term of the year, learners have been partaking in our intensive and hand-on tutoring sessions, various recreational activities and excursions. It has already been great to see learners working together in groups – imagine 165 learners, a number of 37 volunteers and 4 IY staff members all working together!
Ikamvanites at the CCBSA plant
CCBSA Experience and Career Day Coca Cola Beverages South Africa hosted our Grade 11 Ikamvanites for a career fair and job shadowing excursion at their Devland Manufacturing Plant site on Monday 29 May 2017. Learners rotated through the various work stations of the manufacturing facilities and saw first-hand how advanced the Coca Cola production process is. CCBSA staff members shared their experiences and showcased how manufacturing today holds opportunities for advancement and success in a variety of careers. The exhibition was not only enjoyed by learners, it extended to our volunteers and staff too.
NWU Open day
On the 6th of May, the Grade 12 Ikageng learners attended the North West University’s Open Day. University staff and students gave talks throughout the day highlighting future career possibilities that await the learners. There was also an opportunity for the learners to find out about other areas of the University including sports, global learning and other student support facilities.
Matric Week activities
The branch ran a Matric Week programme from the 3rd to the 8th April. It’s was full week cycle of comprehensive tutoring and support delivered to a total number of 35 learners from our current matric cohort. We worked with a number of 12 tutor that were elected during the Branch Community to deliver three hours of quality tutoring sessions every day from 9h00am to 1h00pm, followed by a number of various educational workshops every afternoon delivered by various IY stakeholders.
The workshops included the Anti-Drug Campaign, Environmental Education facilitated by North West Parks & Tourism Board; Reading Book Club workshop, a trip to the North West University department of Science for a tour and presentation. On Thursday, the Career Guidance Specialist, Anne-Marie Stanisavljevic, delivered an online career guidance workshop to our learners to help guide their choices and decisions after grade 12. The week ended with the learners online tertiary applications.
The branch is working extremely hard to maintain its history of good matric pass rates.
Our Tutors and Learners Hard at work during our Matric Week
Future Engineers Attending The #GirlEngineering Workshop
Ikamvanites Girls at Sci-Bono premises for the #GirlsEng #AskanEng
On the 22 of April, the WomEng afforded our learners an opportunity attends the #AskanEng workshop hosted in Johannesburg, at SciBono premises in Newtown. A total number of 12 Ikamvanites girls attended the session, we selected three learners from each grade (Grade 9, 10,11 and 12) according to their academic excellence and their expressed interest in Mathematics and Science. This workshop introduced the exciting world of engineering as a career option for girls and discussions on the importance of maths and science at an early age.
We received positive feedback from girls that attended; most of learners say, “I Never Knew That Engineering Had So Many Opportunities” and “I Never Knew This Was a Career Option For Me”.
Computer Literacy Programme
On the 12th of April, the staff members and two volunteers (Molebogeng and Shawn) received Computer4Kids, enabling us to efficiently deliver the computer literacy for our learners across all grades.
The objective is to have all the Ikageng registered learners to be gain crucial computer literacy skills and enable them to have better access to information.
The lessons ran smoothly and well received by our learners.
My Future My Career
My Future My Career is an amazing imitative that is driven by Primestars Marketing and Shine Solutions, the objective of this initiative is to expose learners to career opportunities in a fun way (movie screening). Our learners were granted the most amazing opportunity of being part of “My Future My Career”, they learnt so much and had fun.
Mentor/Mentee day
Our mentors have shown interest and are very enthusiastic about the programme. They have been very supportive in that they planned a Mentor day with our Grade 12 learners and helped them with Tertiary applications.
Printer Donation and parents meeting
After receiving our printer from one of our Ikamvanite Parents, Mr and Mrs Moloi
After experiencing “Paper jams” and “misfeeds”, one of our Ikamvanite parents donated a printer to the Branch.
We look forward to many educational, exciting and memorable moments throughout the year!
After having spent a week in their respective high schools, the Matrics spent 3 days at the branch practicing together.
Thursday was the time to relax and breathe. Discovering about weather forecast, sea rescue, maritime maps and careers ensuring the operation of a lighthouse.
IY would like to particularly thank Mvumekazi Sogcwayi, Celeste Helm and Jacques Dondo for their precious support to the learners.
At the GirlEng #AskAnEngineer workshop on 20 May, 23 of our Grade 9, 10 and 11s:
- Heard first-hand stories from engineering students and engineers about their various fields of engineering and how they decided to choose engineering as a career e.g. electrical, civil, chemical and mechanical engineering.
- Found out more about the various options available and what is needed to study engineering.
- Met with mentors and sponsors that could assist them in furthering a career in engineering
IkamvaYouth particularly thank Danielle Hendricks and Mvumekazi Socwayi for accompanying the learners.
Choosing a career and the studies to reach a professional goal is not an easy one for High School learners.
Therefore, Matric learners had the opportunity to attend the UCT, UWC and CPUT Open days.
The learners were excited and energetic to be on Campus accompanied by their mentors and tutors. They got a chance talk to University students, professionals and lecturers about careers and courses offered in all three institutions.
We address a special thank you to the following tutors and mentors for having availed their time and passion on these days: Mvumekazi Sogcwayi,Okuhle Beyaphi, Phumza Kibi,Avile Mabhengu,Thulisa Mayekiso, Sivuyisiwe Mbede, Alison Walker, Lucia Toich, Siyolisi Bani, Yolanda Sigodi, Sinenjongo Ngxameleni, Thabiso Sekwati Ngapo, Mapule Puleng, Thobela Bixa and Khululwa Nkatshu.
In the past two months, the Nyanga branch has had the pleasure of hosting Lindsay Vogelzang; a research student from the Netherlands. In her first couple of days at the branch, the learners were surprised to see the unfamiliar face at the office. In just a few days, they were greeting each other like old friends. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Lindsay. Over this short period she has become part of the Nyanga branch and a friendly face around the Zolani Centre. She was often heard greeting passersby by in IsiXhosa. The toddlers from the neighbouring educare centre were always surprised and enthused to hear her greet them with ‘Molo’ (Hello). Although her research was conducted mainly with the learners and tutors, we as staff also got to know her well during this period. We are grateful for the helping hand she always offered and we will surely miss her friendly smile.
On Friday, 31 March, Lindsay hosted a farewell session for the learners who participated in her research during her stay at the Nyanga branch. The session was in the form of a surprise pancake party for the learners. The group spent time listening to music, nibbling on snacks and enjoying home-made pancakes made by Lindsay. We as branch staff also took this time to present her with a small gift from the Nyanga branch; an IY hoodie and diary. She has earned it as an “honorary staff member”.
The volunteers she worked with had the following to say about their experience with Lindsay:
“So – working with Lindsay was at first a bit of a challenge for me because I have never encountered someone with so much energy, especially around people that she’s just met. As time passed and the more time I spent with her, I realized that she just generally has a positive attitude and a mindset that exudes nothing but intelligence and positive energy in every space that she’s in. I loved getting to know more about her adventurous mindset and how she finds our country as an interesting and fun place to be in. I also enjoyed telling her my story and sharing my experiences as a South African citizen. One of the things that I have learnt from her is the importance of listening attentively and to not judge the other people’s backgrounds, but rather to encourage them to become bigger and better in the future.“
Sisonke Madlongwana
“Today our Nyanga team is becoming smaller. We will miss your sense of humour and your humble soul. I had a great time working with you and I learnt a lot from you in this short time. May all your dreams come true!”
Sihle Sosanti
“From my experience working with Lindsay, I would say she is a lovely, humble and good to work with kind of person. She is dedicated and ambitious, and I’ve learnt a lot from working with her. I am now proud to say there’s something I know about her country, and I appreciate her enthusiasm and trust towards me. I wish her well on her journey and all the success in her future endeavors. I’d like to tell her that she will be always be welcome and our doors will always be open for her. “
Ayanda Kondlo
We asked Lindsay to say a few words about her research and her short journey with IkamvaYouth:
“Hi there! This is Lindsay, I am a student from the Netherlands and I had the pleasure and honour to join the Nyanga branch for a period of 8 weeks. What am I doing exactly? I have to conduct research for my studies in Cultural Anthropology in order to graduate. The topic of my study is about the youth in the townships of Cape Town; the way they live their lives and how they identify with South Africa. To be at the Nyanga branch I got the opportunity to get to know the staff, tutors and learners for a longer period of time. I listened to their stories during interviews and did group activities to gain an in-depth view of their lives and neighbourhoods. As I said, it was a great honour and pleasure to meet all the different and inspiring people, listen to their stories and experience their way of life. They were really welcoming, and the family vibes are all over the branch. They take care of each other and help each other succeed with education as the key for a brighter future.“
Lindsay has generously donated 14 English dictionaries to the Nyanga branch. We are incredibly grateful for this gift. This gift means a lot to the Nyanga branch and will definitely be a closely cherished asset. We know that our learners and tutors will put them to good use.
The Nyanga branch wishes her all the best with her studies, we hope she enjoyed her stay with us as much as we all did. We would like to thank her once again for the generous donation. We would like to send her off with the following quote:
“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
William James
[Lindsay with the 2017 Nyanga Branch Committee at the Nyanga SPW]
[Lindsay and her learners after the Pancake Party]
[Lindsay pictured with Nyanga learners and tutors]
[Nyanga Branch staff members and Lindsay]
IkamvaYouth Gauteng branches participated in the Global Mentorship Walk that took place at the Voortrekker Monument Park in Tshwane to commemorate International Women’s day on Saturday the 11th of March 2017. The mentorship walk brought together girls and women from the region, including 11 Grade 12s from Mamelodi branch, 8 from Grade 12s from Ivory Park and 8 Grade 12s from Ebony Park.
The walk was coordinated by Hadithi Media as local organisers of this global initiative, a Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk. This initiative comprised 132 walks which took place in 61 Countries around the world. The intention was to create an accessible platform for dialogue between mentor and mentee, whilst creating visibility around women leadership and mentorship, with the theme: Her Story, Your Story, Shared Stories. Importantly this day served to motivate women of different ages to voice their stories through writing and taking visuals of of their stories.
The day started at 8am, with registration and breakfast. Rehema Isa gave an overview of their organisation and why it is important for them to host such an event and what is the desired outcome they are looking for at the end of the programme. Rehema Isa further introduced the stakeholders and the roles they played towards making that day a success. Stakeholders that took part in the event were the US Embassy,The Passionate Professionals, Thadithi media as well as IkamvaYouth.Mamelodi intern Naledi was given an opportunity to explain what IkamvaYouth is and give a brief background about our organisation and why I think the event is relevant to our organisation.
Our Mamelodi branch intern, Naledi said “one of the things that stood out for me was that the event turned out well in terms of the interaction between learners and mentors as they all understood how the program and the purpose was. There was a paradigm shift as women of different generations established good relationships . The walk was quite fun as we had different topics to discuss amongst our pairs and shared some of our experiences and ambitions in life like how to tackle some of the obstacles that some of the mentors had gone through and how they made it work for them even if they were experiencing some challenges; this was one of the activities that were quite motivating because you got to realize that people had faced the same challenges you had and you needn’t be be hard on yourself, instead you should stay on course and keep your eye on the ball. We were grouped into teams of 3 which consisted of one mentor and two mentees. Amongst the topics that we discussed were academics; our well-being; how we cope under pressure; where we see ourselves in the future and what we expect from our mentors.”
Towards the end of the programme a collective feedback session in the respective teams was conducted and the teams were also given the opportunity to shoot videos that will be posted on social media and their website talking about their experience about the event.
The objectives of raising awareness about mentoring as a key tool for personal, professional and business development were achieved and the event brought together women professionals and emerging women in mentoring partnerships, creating a lasting network of role models for the mentees.
The benefits of women’s mentorship are numerous. It establishes camaraderie; creates gender-friendly environments; promotes a stronger environment for women’s success and expands horizons for further personal growth as women explore innovative leadership strategies.
IkamvaYouth’s mentoring programme enables Grade 12 learners to access post-school opportunities. Although the career guidance workshops increase learners’ awareness of post-school opportunities and ways to access them, IkamvaYouth learners need one-on-one support from a mentor to help them make the transition from secondary to tertiary education. The mentoring programme ensures that every Ikamvanite accesses tertiary education and/or employment once they matriculate.
Lloyd Lungu