2013 was a big year for IY, and it is with great pride (and relief!) that we can report, once again, our matrics’ excellent achievements. It is thanks to the superheroes who work or volunteer at IY, and those who support and enable this amazing team of people, that IY continues to deliver while growing significantly.
Overall, we achieved an 89% matric pass, and incredibly, 94% of these passes are diploma (30%) or bachelor passes (64%). With sixty more matrics than last year; two brand new branches established; a comprehensive survey of our alumni completed and all that went into our big ten year bash; the ikamvanites really pushed ourselves in our tenth year. And while having our work recognised by many accolades (including the STARS Impact award) is a great affirmation of all we put in, nothing makes it feel more worthwhile than sharing the excitement and joy with our learners as they celebrate the beginning of their shining bright futures.
But (as always at IY), there’s more to come. We still have two big hurdles to clear: the supplementary exams in march (all learners who failed and many of those who fell just short of the diploma or bachelor passes they were aiming for will be spending the coming weeks back with their books), and the all-important post-school placements. The next few weeks involve a lot of time on the phones and in queues at tertiary institutions, as we aim to ensure that all our learners enroll in the post-school opportunities that will set them on their career paths.
Our results by branch and province are as follows:
Gauteng
Ivory Park (first matric cohort!): 100% pass; 17% diploma & 83% bachelor
Ebony Park: 94% pass; 34% diploma & 62% bachelor
KZN
Chesterville: 82% pass; 48% diploma & 44% bachelor
Umlazi (first matric cohort): 83% pass; 47% diploma & 40% bachelor
Western Cape
Makhaza: 83% pass; 28% diploma & 64% bachelor
Nyanga: 93% pass; 15% diploma & 85% bachelor
Masi: 89% pass; 88% bachelor
Well done to everyone who made this happen!
We hope that you have had a splendid holiday season, and are as excited about 2014 as we are.
We have compiled a very brief newsletter, which shares details on our recent win at the internationally acclaimed, STARS Impact Awards and the results of our alumni survey, which details ikamvanites’ post-matric careers in tertiary education and the workforce.
View or download our December 2013 Newsletter today!
On Friday, 29 November, the 2013 Prize giving was held at Desmond Tutu hall. Over 200 learners, tutors and parents were present to join the celebrations and be part of making a difference in these learners’ lives. The masters of ceremony were two vibrant grade 11s, Aviwe Apolosi and Sakhumzi Bhatala they kept the crowd entertained.
This is an event that allows the branch to celebrate the achievements of its learners and recognizing all the individuals that contributed to those achievements, namely the Tutors and Partners. They have committed the time and worked tirelessly with learners equipping them with knowledge and skills that they require to succeed in their studies and life. Certificates were awarded to learners, tutors and Partners. The categories were as follows: Academic Achiever, Most Improved, Certificate of Recognition, and Branchcomm Certificate. The learners also got a chance to vote for their peers that they felt were active and helpful to them during the course year. The categories for the certificates included Learner of the year, Outstanding Leadership and Most Committed Learner. Learners said words about their mentors that headed up workshops, praised them for the skills that they have acquired from their sessions and awarded certificates and thank you gifts for their efforts, partners including Numeric, Nazeema Isaacs Library amongst many were recognized. “I am now comfortable with using a computer and can even create games and write blogs easily thanks to Marion for her programming workshops” said Ndilisa May a grade 11 learner.
Learners also got a chance to show their talents, performing their poems and show casing their dance moves to a cheerful crowd.
The event was a huge success as everyone came out to support and contribute to the day’s events. Cheers to 2013………….
The Grade 9 learners at the Makhaza Ikamva Youth branch take part in a Numeric Khan Academy programme every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. They practice various maths concepts on an online platform called Khan Academy. This programme enables learners to practice maths at their own pace and to build up foundational maths topics. Led by coach, Yanga Zukelwa, this year’s Grade 9s have mastered more maths concepts than in previous years. The Grade 9s work hard and look forward to attending these sessions.
As a way of rewarding learners for their effort and recognising the achievements of the group, Numeric held an Awards Ceremony for the learners on 31 August at the Ikamva Youth Office in Makhaza. Certificates were presented to learners based on the number of topics that they had mastered using the Khan Academy platform. In order to attain mastery in these topics, learners must get at least 10 maths sums correct in a row. In doing this, learners often have to complete more than 20 maths sums to achieve mastery in a topic, which means to earn the first certificate learners would have had to complete at least 500 maths sums on Khan Academy. Certificates were given out for 25 Mastered topics (Red Diamond Certificate), 50 Mastered Topics (Orange Diamond Certificate), and 75 Mastered Topics (Purple Diamond Certificate).
These learners should be very proud of themselves and their hard work because every learner earned a Red Diamond Certificate for Mastering at least 25 topics.
There were also some special awards for Most Committed Learner, Most Helpful Learner, Most Improved Learner, and a Drill Master Award for the learner who did best on arithmetic speed tests.
The event was a fun celebration of hard work and success! Well done to the Grade 9s at the Ikamva Youth Branch in Makhaza!
On Friday the 26th of July 2013, the KZN team of IkamvaYouth got all dolled up, and headed off to Pietermaritzburg’s Protea Imperial Hotel for the 3rd annual KZN Young Achievers Awards. The purpose of the Young Achiever Awards is to acknowledge, encourage, reward and most importantly promote the positive achievements of KZN youth aged between 16 and 35 years. The prestigious ceremony was attended by the Honourable Pietermaritzburg Mayor, Chris Ndlela, who warmly welcomed everyone to the City of Choice.
The awards recognise the achievements of youth, who are giving back to their communities in the following categories: Arts; Beauty & Fashion; Arts; Agriculture & Rural Initiatives; Science & Technology; Health; Sports; Best Media Initiative; and last but not least, Best Youth Development Organisation, which went to IkamvaYouth.
The award recipients
IkamvaYouth isn’t new to receiving awards, but this one is particularly special to the KZN team, as it is a first for the district. It was really encouraging to receive this award, as it was an acknowledgement of our work in KZN. The award came at a really special time, as the organisation celebrates its 10 year anniversary.
Also receiving awards on the evening, were a number of individuals who are not necessarily considered “young”, but have played a key role in youth development, and made an impact on young people’s lives in KZN and across South Africa. Recipients of these honourary awards were Dr Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Zanele Mbokazi of Ukhozi fm, Dr Mthembu of Indoni SA, Dr Ngcobo of Ukuphila Wellness, and Menzi Ngubane of Generations.
Dr Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Menzi Ngubane (aka Sibusiso) of Generations receiving Honourary awards.
Being in a room with so many other young people who are making a difference in the community through their various fields was really encouraging. For IkamvaYouth, it just shows that Vision 2030 is indeed attainable!
Team KZN: The Sky is the limit!
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!
Lloyd Lungu