The Spirit of Youth programme is a one year learning experience for grade 11 learners from diverse backgrounds who see themselves as agents of positive change in South Arica. Spirit of Youth offers a platform for young people to grow a culture of volunteerism and to build a democratic society, In particular, Spirit of Youth facilitates the exploration of how challenges can be converted into opportunities. The programme includes activities that enable learners to dialogue with both leaders ad peers about the issues that concern them and about their future aspirations.
This is accomplished by creating and facilitating opportunities for participants to:
- Learn about their context- dialogue
- Develop a deeper understanding of themselves and SA’s complex challenges
- Channel energy into a positive direction
- Create an awareness of opportunities
- Foster a spirit of volunteerism
- Facilitate the creation of a vision for a better world
The Spirit of Youth programme was created in 2005 by the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), THE Johannesburg based highly regarded ‘business school for businesses. GIBS has partnered in Cape Town for Grade 11 learners from diverse school in and around Cape Town. The Cape Town programme is offered over eight Saturday (8am to 4pm) between March and October from Tsiba’s pinelands based campus
The first programme was on the 23rd of March 2013, we sent in three learners from Masiphumele Branch, they had to arrive at the campus at 8am. We asked the learners to take down notes and observe everything which will be taking place.
FEED BACK FROM LEARNERS
Sivuyisiwe Mbede: On arrival we were introduced to the Spirit of Youth facilitators that we will be working with, we took a trip to the slave lodge where we were taught about our history and slavery, after the tour and lesson the motivational speaker, Mr Mbulelo Yedwa talked to us and encouraged us to always focus on the positive side of our lives and never dwell on the past, he also told us that in order to achieve your dreams and goals you must work hard, and if you think success comes easily you are fooling yourselves.
We went back to the Tsiba campus for lunch, when we got there others were already there eating fancy food, we were told to eat old bread and drink water, we all complained and voiced ourselves, demanding to be treated fairly and equally, seeing our reactions, they later told us that it was a game and a test they wanted to see our reactions, they wanted to see whether we will be able to cope under such circumstances, in the end we all ate the same fancy food.
We discussed the trip, the lesson and the game. “I learned a lot from the first programme ad I am looking forward to the next programme’
Jacqualine Ncube: I enjoyed the first programme we attended at the Tsiba campus, I was mostly impressed with Mr Mbulele Yedwa. Mr Mbulelo grew up in hardships, but he has managed to make a succsess of his life, he studied at UCT and UWC and passed his degrees with flying colors, and now he is a HR manager at Eskom and managing 105 people.
‘I want to share with my fellow Ikamvanites the quote Mr Ydwa lives by because they truly inspired me.
- Sometimes a problem isn’t a problem, but the way you see the problem is the problem
- The mind that holds the problem has the key to the solution
- A thought can become something
- In a life you can choose to be a better person or a bitter person
- Liberation first then education later
- I use my voice and the Invoice follows
This man truly inspired me, and I can wait to go back and learn more things which will benefit me in future
Zodidi Mtingane: We were Introduced to Tsiba and told what it is all about, we were then placed in different groups, I liked my groups facilitator, her name is Mr Kairen Peacock, they took us to the Iziko Museum to the slave lodge. Mr Mbulelo Yedwa the guest speaker, talked about his child hood ad how hard he worked to be the successful man that he is today, and also he motivated us the youth to work hard and be determined ad always tell ourselves that we can do anything we put our minds to.
Back to Tsiba we had lunch followed by a debate and a discussion about history, (slavery, and apartheid)
We went back to the hall and we informed about the next date of the programme, which I can’t wait to attend. Thank you Tsiba and IkamvaYouth!
Ikamva is really proud of these three leaners who attended the programme, from their feedback it shows that they had a good time and they left the progamme inspired and informed, and this is what we want from them, to make use of the programmes given to them.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE INFORMATION FROM THEIR NEXT PROGRAMME ATTENDANCE
The Nedbank My Future, My Career takes learners on behind-the-scenes tours of various career options and inspires learners to set new, informed tertiary study and career goal. All presentations were communicated and delivered via produced films and are screened at Ster- Kinekor cinemas nationwide.
17 March 2013, 27 Gauteng Ikamvanites attended the Career Day in Brooklyn, Pretoria. We left Midrand at 7:00 and we were back at 13:00. Screenings started at 8:30 and lasted for three hours. Various fields of study were screened at the cinema. Each broadcast consisted of discussions from professionals and academics from each featured field of study. Information presented included; guides to choosing the right subject for the right career, tertiary institution entrance requirement, bursary information and contact information.
The learners were able to appreciate the films broadcasted to them. Some of the feedback from them showed how informative the broadcasts were and the value that the Career Day imparts as a basis for decision making when they leave school. Here are some learners’ comments about the presentation.
“The presentation helped me to choose a second career choice” – Mpho (Ivory Park)
“I gained a lot of insight about subject choices and careers” – Cassandra (Ebony Park)
The day ended well, and it was a memorable occasion that I am sure will serve the Ikamvanites in good stead in terms of making informed decisions about their future.
On Saturday 9 March, IkamvaYouth in partnership with Capitec presented a fire safety awareness workshop hosted by Mrs Nombeko Kopele (Public Education Officer) from the fire and rescue services in Ottery, Cape Town. In December 2012, close to a 1000 shacks burnt down in Khayelitsha with countless people being displaced and with winter approaching, a time when the risks of fires increase, it was an opportune time to educate our learners about the dangers that fires pose, but also give them tips on how to avoid these fires.
The presentation were in two parts, first with the grade 10, 11 and 12s and then with the grade 8 and 9s. The reason for this split was because different aspects were discussed with the different age groups. Although the main focus of the workshop was fire safety awareness, it also allowed the presenter to speak to the older kids about the different careers within fire and rescue. This was very exciting for the ikamvanites because they found out that the training to become a fire fighter or paramedic is only 6 months and that it was really physical. They had a lot of questions to ask and the presenter was very knowledgeable and answered all their questions. Lwazi Fanana, a grade 11 learner, said afterwards that he might consider a career in the fire and rescue field. Another learner Sipho Nqgayimbana, grade 12, asked about the different careers within the fire and rescue fields and the presenter said that careers vary from administration, management, medical to paramedical and firefighting, etc., and that there are lots of skills shortages in this career field and with that a lot of opportunities for young people to join.
For the younger grades, the focus were more on fire prevention tips, what to do in case of a fire or burn injuries and who to contact when you see a fire. The session with them were more 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 told to call 107 or 0215901900 in case of a fire or any other emergency. Everyone had a lot of questions for Mrs Kopele and as with the other group; she was able to answer every question.
We would like to thank the City of Cape Town and in particular Mrs Nombeko Kopele and Mr Abdusalaam Allie, Capitec and everyone that assisted with this workshop.
The weekend consisted of planning for 2013 as well as an election to choose the new branch committee as well as choosing the different heads of the different portfolios. Present were more than 30 learners from different grades and tutors and they all had a chance to discuss the decision making, planning and electing the branch committee.
The Main goal of our SPW was to elect a branch committee (in charge of roles and portfolios) and for new volunteers (grade12 from last year returning) to take ownership of programme and become part of the management team. It was also a great weekend for the leaner reps and tutors to get to know each other better.
On Saturday we discussed the year program and we also had a look back at what happened in 2012. The morning started off with an introduction and the group explaining what their expectations of the weekend will be, we then discussed what happened in 2012 and then we ended with looking at what IkamvaYouth is doing well, what challenges we are facing, what IkamvaYouth is offering learners and the community and what we can do to improve the programme. We had a lot of first time branch committee members, but the rest of the group made them all feel included and welcome.
On Sunday the election took place and everyone had a chance to vote for the different nominees. The nomination and election process were very democratic and the nominees had to explain to the group why they were best suited for the different portfolios. The different portfolios were Tutoring, Volunteer Coordination, Career Guidance, Media, Image and Expression, Computer Literacy, Health and Life Skills and Alumni.
The different portfolio members also had to discuss their portfolios and present a plan of action for the group and will need to present this plan of action to all the Ikamvanites at Makhaza. They had to present their goals, when the goals should be reached and by whom. Emihle, a grade 8 learner and newly appointed portfolio member said that the weekend was a dream come true and that she enjoyed the interaction and discussions that took place and that she is really happy and proud for being chosen as part of the health and life skills portfolio.
Mandisi Gladile, a tutor says, “the weekend was really informative and made me realise the value IkamvaYouth adds not only to the learners but also the community and I feel really inspired for the things that we have planned for 2013.”
strategic_planning_week_2013.pdf
It’s a new year and the KZN branches were planning and preparing for open day and prize giving. Indeed all of the hard work paid off and was a success. The branches then decided to surprise the learners with a trip to uShaka Marine World. The trip not for all but for the learners awarded and deserving as it was a way to show each learner that their hard work and dedication to committing themselves to their work is recognised, so IkamvaYouth decided to take all winners on a trip to uShaka Marie World. Here the Umlazi Branch met up with the awarded learners from the Chesterville Branch together they took a journey into the sea world learning so much about the different types of creatures that live in the ocean.
All learners were so eager and asked a lot of questions and couldn’t stop taking photos of such beautiful creatures. The fun did not end there they got an opportunity to also see the Dolphins at Sea World Stadium as they were putting on a magnificent show for them. There was a lot of singing, dancing and cheering as the wonderful staff from the Sea World kept everyone entertained. It was a long beautiful day for the learners but it was not just all about fun and games, they also learnt a lot especially about how to take of such creatures as well as what career opportunities there are in taking care of such creatures. Some learners even spoke about going back to uShaka Marine World for another awesome experience.
Monday, 10th December 2012: Excited Ikamva Youth learners from Umlazi and Chesterville were treated to a set of presentations by Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) in Phoenix Business Park. ABI is the leading distributor of Coca-Cola products in the southern hemisphere. ABI is a firm supporter and sponsor of the Ikamva initiative. Ikamvanites were informed about the working of the company, the respective responsibilities of the various departments, and the career opportunities available at ABI. Staff members of ABI provided important information and advice to students about study trajectories that would afford them a chance to work for a company like ABI. Learners were responsive and posed a number of questions to the speakers and expressed interest in pursuing careers at ABI. A lovely lunch was had, after a tour of ABI’s factory floor.
Some of the staff who gave presentations about their different departments
Learners and tutors listening tentatively to the advice offered by the ABI staff.
Lunch is served!
Lloyd Lungu