On the 3rd to the 4th of April 2011 the Nyanga top attenders hiked Table Mountain and camped on top for the night
The Camp was organised by BEEP (Beyond Expectations Environment Project) which works with kids in disadvantaged areas and help in educating about their environment while simultaneously tackling the issues they face in their communities
The Camp was attendered by 16 learners from Grade 9 to 12, girls and boys who were so excitted as it was the first time for most of them
Many came back expressing the how much they have learnt and would love to make hiking their hobby
A Big thanx to John Raimondo one of our Gold donors for sponsoring this fun filled Adventure for our learners
The Masiphumelele Ikamvanites who attended 100% of tutoring sessions in the first term were rewarded with an amazing trip to the Cedarberg wilderness during the holidays.
On Thursday 7th April we set off, and after many, many twists, turns, bumps, and a couple of rather green and sick looking Ikamvanites we arrived at the idyllic Leopards Trust Camp in Maijtiesriver. Everywhere we looked we could see mountains, mountains…and…erm… that was about it! The beautiful scenary surrounded a secluded little camp; home to the Cape Leopard Trust.
We were welcomed by Elizabeth and Matthew who would be guiding us over the next few days. We arrived late and after the surprisingly quick erecting of tents we went on a small drive and walk to some amazing rock formations. As the sun was setting over the mountains and turning the sand stone a rich golden colour, everyone had a smile on their face.
The next day was somewhat more of a challenge. Awoken at 6am to the sounds of fighting baboons on the mountain behind us, we sent about the day which involved a gruelling hike to the Wolfberg Cracks. The 5 hour hike was testing at times, but the Ikamvanites rose to the challenge. They moaned, grimaced and perservered. When they arrived at the top of the spectacular rocks there were smiles, laughs and hugs all around.
The afternoon was spent sleeping, playing cards and reflecting on their amaizng accomplishment. The evening was spent dancing and singing around the fire with a lovely night sky gazing session under a full canopy of stars.
The wonderful thing about the camp is that it was educational as well. Whilst we walked and talked we also learnt. Elizabeth and Matthew are both trained teachers with a love and passion for the outdoors, animals and wildlife. We were shown skulls, rock art, leopard traps, taught how to track, how to identify different rock formations and plants, and even shown a plant that makes you smell nice! We saw insects, bugs, baboons, jennets, birds, and even Klipspringer.
The final day was ended in a swim in an isolated and beautiful river where we frolicked in the water as the sun set. Back to camp for a delicious meal prepared by the Ikamvanites and a evening spent lazing around the fire storytelling. The weekend was tiring but fantastic and as the learners got off the bus the only question was ‘When is the next one’.
Thank you to Peter and Allison for volunteering to come along and to all the learners who were amazing!
The Nyanga Branch on the 26 March 2011 held its very own independent SPW which was attended by learners and tutors from the Nyanga Branch and visited by Joy and Zoe
This has been a very excitting weekend for the Nyanga Branch as it was two days of planning the year and reflecting on the succeses and acheivements we have had, the memebers took time to know each other better and share reasons why they are part of Ikamva Youth
On the 26th we discussed issues that the branch is facing and reasons for those issues, where we broke into groups and had to come up with solutions and ways to make the Nyanga Branch meet everyones needs as best as possible
As it was our very first SPW as a branch we had the time to really focus on branch specific issues and realise that all IY branches have common and individual issues facing each branch,the day was dedicated to addressing themes that came up in our group discussions
The following day we dedicated the day to planning and putting dates for all actions to be taken, we spent the last day of the weekend setting realistic goals and deadlines so that this year we meet our goals, seeing that we have more capacity than any other years
To find the spw report press here:
The weekend has been a very fruitful weekend and has left the Nyanganites ready to take this year by STORM!!!
The Ivory Park branch of IkamvaYouth held our very first (inaugural) Strategic Planning Weekend (SPW) recently with a view to getting to know each other better and planning the rest of the year ahead. The weekend was an excellent opportunity for volunteers, tutors and learner representatives to explore a little deeper what it means to be an Ikamvanite and how to make sure that the values we say we represent spill over into our actions.
Download the full report here.
For many the weekend was an excellent opportunity to dig deeper into the IkamvaYouth goals and the core mission to use the opportunuties created by education to help township school learners help themselves and others out of poverty. The co-founder of IkamvaYouth, Joy Olivier, came up from Cape Town to lead a number of the workshops around how we make sure we maintain the low cost high impact model of IkamvaYouth.
The two biggest highlights of the weekend included the election of the Ivory Park Branch Committee for 2011 and this was capped off with a visit from the Minister of Basic Education Ms. Angie Motshekga.
More photos of the weekend are up on our facebook page, you can visit www.facebook.com/IkamvaYouthGauteng.
Please do LIKE us on our facebook page if you haven’t done so already.
On the 13 March 2011 the Ikamva Youth Nyanga Branch hosted its first tesing day for 2011
Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation partnered up with the Nyanga Branch in educating the learners about the importance of knowing your staus and being healthy, a talk was given by Sister Liz of the Tutu testers about the importance of preventing ones self from the HIV virus and why it is imporatnt that learners should test and know their staus early as possible
One of Ikamva Youth’s goal is to assist learners to lead healthy and responsible lives through knowing their status early and taking the necessary procautions when they know
The Tutu testers came with their mobile testing unit and openned up time during the Saturday tutoring session for a group of 6 leaners at a time, to go and test while learners and tutors continued with the normal tutoring for the day
The learners were encouraged to test but also told that testing is ones choice and no one will be forced to test if they dont want to, as Sis Liz mentioned the testing is “voluntary”
Our next tesing day will be held after our Winter School in July!
Waiting for their results after the health screening, TB, BMI, and HIV!
Now we know our status, Do You know yours?
BMI testing!!
Cricket fever was at an all time high at the Ivory Park IkamvaYouth Centre as Neotel launched the Community Internet Cafe in partnership with our friends at Siyakhula. Ikamvanites participated in the festivites and were joined by the Nashua Titans’s Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, Henry Davids, Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, David Wiese and the Bizhub Team Cyclists’ Lynn Torp, Catherine Williamson and Yolandi du Toit to celebrate the event.
A massive thank you to Neotel for an awesome day and the excitement of which was reflected in the response from the community to Neotel’s generous donation of computers, printers, scanners and internet access to the centre and people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park. Our friends at the Siyakhula Computer School aim to inspire students to broaden their knowledge and increase their chances of entry into the working world and this will be all the more easier with the installation of 10 computers, unlimited access to the web, as well as computer lessons so that Siyakhula remains a place of hope and inspiration.
The Nashua Titans themselves also got a chance to “test-drive” the internet café and were taught a thing or two by some of the local community members who have been attending the computer courses on offer at Siyakhula. They then proceeded to take on the Ikamvanites in a 10 minute aside soccer games, mingling with each other amid a lots of physical activity.
Also in attendance was Carol Manana of SABC Sport, Giant Leap, Medi-IQand the favorites of the day Akhumzi and Cindy of Yo-TV who stole the show as everybody wanted a piece of them. Be sure to watch the Big Breakfast show on SABC 1 on Saturday 12th..
One of SA’s top 5 cyclists, Yolandi du Toit was impressed by what she experienced,
“This is not just some passing campaign, this is here to stay, improve people’s lives and truly make a difference […] the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park have secured an opportunity to better their education and skills.”
Considering the day was dedicated to education and enhancing one’s skills, the sports celebrities were given a chance to showcase their skills and expertise with workspace specialists, Giant Leap who kindly donated nearly 100 soccer balls. These were put to good use by the players and community members in the keenly contested sporting challenges. Alongside this were other fun fitness activities hosted by leading sports equipment suppliers, Medi IQ with hurdles, hoola-hooping and bouncing balls. Titans captain, Jacques Rudolph had the following to say:
“I think that the set up here is fantastic and that the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park are both fortunate and grateful for all that they have on their doorstep. I encourage other corporates to get involved in their local communities, as it is actually very easy to make a significant difference.”
In her address to the community, Pumi Sithole of Neotel expressed their desire as an organisation to bring about change and positively influence the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, Neotel also donated an overhead projector and screen to the centre in addition to the centre’s current internet café.
“If we can begin by making a positive impact on the development of each community – no matter how big or small that development is, the prospects for this country will be unlimited”, affirmed Pumi.
It’s another goal scored for Siyakhula, IkamvaYouth and Neotel with the successful internet empowerment of the surrounding community! You can be sure that the Ikamvanites will benefit tremendously from the internet now readily avaialble to them
More photos of the day are available to view here.
Written in part by Caroline Malan from MSCSPORTS.
Lloyd Lungu