Saturday 12 February was a day that learners in the KZN branch of Ikamva had been anticipating for more than four months – The Annual Prize Giving Ceremony. Unfortunately our ceremony had to be pushed back to early this year from late last year due to the prizes and certificates not being ready timeously. As was evidenced on Saturday, the event was worth the wait!
Engen sponsored drawstring goodie bags that consisted of 4 Quire note books, pens and diaries for learners whose attendance carried them over into this year. Learners with exemplary attendance also received these goodie bags and a R200 gift voucher from Adams. The learners who passed last year’s assessment tests during Winter School with +80% for various subjects received additional R200 book vouchers from CNA and scientific calculators. For giving so generously of their time, knowledge and skills, the tutors recieved the same gift bags with vouchers and 4gig memory sticks.
Professor David Day, the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at DUT was present at the ceremony. Prof. Day inspired the learners in his speech to Ikamvanites.
“You should keep in mind what and who you want to be in the future. When you have this in mind, you will be able to work hard in order to achieve your dreams. We all don’t want to work all the time, and we get tired of school work, but when you have a dream to work towards, it becomes that much easier for you to push yourself on those days when you don’t feel like working”, said Prof. Day.
Photo: Learners who achieved +80% in assessment tests last year with guests. l-r:Prof. Day, Tania Khumalo, Smilesihle Mngomezulu, Fortunate Chinogureyi, Samkelisiwe Jali, Phelele Gwala, Bulelwa Xobiso, Caroline Ligwa from Engen and Khona Dlamini
IkamvaYouth KZN would like to thank Caroline Ligwa and the staff at Engen for sponsoring prizes. This is one of the ways that we can incentivise hard work for learners and better commitment from volunteers. Thank you very much.
Lokhu enikwenzele thina nikuphinde nakwabanye!
The contents of the goodie bags.
More than 350 learners accompanied by their parents, volunteers, NGO representatives and friends of IkamvaYouth from Ivory Park, Ebony Park, Rabie Ridge, Kaalfontein and surrounding areas filled the IkamvaYouth Centre hall to its capacity and listened attentively to increase their chances of being selected to become Ikamvanites in 2011.
The sad reality is that of the 300+ learners who have expressed an interest in joining the Ivory Park branch we only have the capacity to admit 120 learners in 2011.
Those who don’t make it are encouraged to join the Thandulwazi Academic Support programme hosted by the St Stithians Foundation on the St Stithians College school grounds. We will be happy to assist with additional information in this regard.
Of course, if government and corporates have keen ears and interest to impact where it matters the most, this is an opportunity to invest financial resources to IkamvaYouth to increase its capacity to take more learners and be part of this life-changing opportunity. IkamvaYouth literally changes the lives and future prospects of our learners but also of the as-yet-unnamed learners to come who will benefit from successful ikamvanites returning to pass on their knowledge gained.
Lets compare…
More than a week has passed since Ikamvanites along with their fellow Grade 12’s received their matric results. Whilst Ikamvanites are busy with registration and sorting out their accommodation etc we have taken the time to make some stark comparisons with the results achieved by our Ikamvanites and those achieved by the schools that they attend.
This is the first comparison of individual schools compared with IkamvaYouth’s results, and is for the Western Cape province. Firstly, this comparison helps to highlight that the IkamvaYouth pass rate in the Western Cape is 21% higher than the national average and 12% higher than the provincial average.
These figures are even more impressive when one takes into account that the provincial average is based on all schools, including well-resourced schools demonstrating 100% pass rates. If we isolate the schools attended by Ikamvanites (under-resourced schools), the difference is revealed even more starkly.
In every single case the IkamvaYouth pass rates far exceed the school pass rates. For instance, the majority of Makhaza learners attend Chris Hani Secondary School which performed poorly, with only 44% of matric students passing. However, all the Ikamvanites that attend Chris Hani passed. Such a disparity between school averages and IkamvaYouth’s results speak for themselves.
In addition if we break down these results into Bachelor, Diploma, and Higher Certificate passes, IkamvaYouth triumphs again by exceeding both the national and provincial averages. Furthermore the same pattern is displayed when comparing to individual school results; IkamvaYouth’s 37% BA pass rate smashes Chris Hani’s 11%.
So, when these learners are directly compared to the local schools, and compared directly within their context they are achieving overwhelmingly good grades. They are breaking the cycle they are escaping the trap that so many youth fall into because they fail to get that academic and social support that they need.
Please have your say about these results and comparisons.
| |
Western Cape IkamvaYouth |
National Ave |
Provincial Ave |
Chris Hani |
Sizimisle |
Sinako |
Harry Gwala |
Isilimela |
| No. of Learners who wrote: |
27 |
537543 |
|
245 |
108 |
206 |
166 |
202 |
| No. of Learners who passed: |
24 |
366072 |
|
107 |
68 |
73 |
75 |
125 |
| Overall Pass Rate |
89% |
68% |
77% |
44% |
63% |
35% |
45% |
62% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bachelor Pass |
37% |
24% |
31% |
11% |
19% |
2% |
10% |
14% |
| Diploma Pass |
33% |
27% |
30% |
18% |
25% |
18% |
19% |
19% |
| Higher Certificate |
15% |
17% |
15% |
15% |
19% |
15% |
16% |
29% |
| Fail/Supplementary |
15% |
32% |
19% |
56% |
37% |
65% |
55% |
38% |
Hi everyone,
I am writing on behalf of all the ikamvanites to say a huge THANK YOU to all our learners, volunteers, interns, families, collaborators, supporters and friends; to wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS and to share some of our highlights and stories of 2010.
The year started with much cause for celebration: Our two grade 12 cohorts from the class of 2009 achieved excellent results. The Western Cape learners achieved a 89.7% matric pass, while the KZN learners achieved an 82% pass; compared with the national pass rate of 60.6% and provincial passes of 78.6% and 66.1% respectively. Even more impressively, 86% of the Western Cape ikamvanites and 81% of the KZN ikamvanites achieved Bachelor or Diploma passes, enabling access to university and universities of technology. This is particularly notable given that only 34.9% of black South African youth achieved these types of quality passes in 2008 (CHET, 2009). More than 70% of last year’s grade 12s are currently enrolled in tertiary institutions, and many have returned as volunteer tutors and mentors.
We’re hoping that the class of 2010 will reach similar heights, despite the disruptive school year caused by the World Cup and the strikes. IkamvaYouth’s branches stepped up to offer intensive tutoring, holiday programmes and strike-interventions this year, and the results of our volunteers and learners’ hard work is already evident in the reports that have been coming in over the last few weeks. There are so many great stories, activities, projects and achievements that it’s impossible to mention them all here. Please browse through our blog, join us on facebook and follow us on twitter to get a sense of some of what’s been happening this year at our branches in Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Masiphumelele, Cato Manor and Ivory Park.
We thank the supporters and partners who made these events happen, particularly the campuses that availed pro bono access to their venues and infrastructure for weekly activities (Nazeema Isaacs Library, Masiphumelele Library, Nyanga Library & Siyakhula Community Centre) and winter schools (TSiBA, UWC , DUT). A huge thanks is due to the committed donors who funded our activities again this year (Raimondo Trust, EMpower, The Learning Trust , Amobia, Hatch, Transnet & PPF), and a great thanks and welcome to the new funders who joined us this year (Potter foundation, Anglo American Chairman’s Fund, AME, Starbucks, Masi Corp, Eskom, Apheda, Nashua & WCED). Thanks especially to the individuals who’ve donated throughout the year through our fundraising events and monthly direct deposits.
We’re very proud to have launched the coolest website on the Internet, and send out a huge shout of thanks to the volunteers who designed and developed it :). We’re also super excited about the upcoming ikamvanite zone site, where ikamvanites can share resources, how-tos and networks for implementing IY programmes at their branches and beyond… watch out for the launch early next year.
Phillip Mcelu, Funeka Kalawe and I presented the IkamvaYouth model at the Quest conference on Improving Student Achievement and 21st Century Skills in Canada, and a major highlight of 2010 was receiving the Mail & Guardian / Southern African Trust Drivers of Change award for being THE civil society drivers of change in Southern Africa! The judges said of the ikamvanites “these learners are the true drivers of change as they are also setting a good example for younger learners to become agents of change for their own success.” Please read the full article about IkamvaYouth in the M&G’s Investing in the Future suppplement.
Finally, we welcome and congratulate the newest addition to our board of directors, Thobela Bixa. Thobela was a grade 12 ikamvanite in 2005, and has recently been awarded the Potter fellowship to do his MA in Chemistry at UCT. He’ll also be joining Susie at the University of Michigan for a year 🙂 We thank David and Elaine Potter for their ongoing suport of our people and organisation.
While we celebrate the achievements of our learners and volunteers, the situation we seek to address is depressingly becoming worse. While in 2002, white learners were twice as likely to enrol in tertiary study than their black counterparts, in 2007 this disparity increased such that white learners were three and a half times as likely to enter the doors of higher learning than black learners (CHET, 2009). The pressure is therefore upon us to do more, and in order to step up to meet this need, we need your help.
If each of the people reading this volunteers 3 hours a month or donates your equivalent earnings for this time, we can make a significant dent in the inequality that’s perpetuating disadvantage in SA.
600 learners will be enrolled in IY programmes next year, and we need funding to provide them with the support they need to lift themselves and each other out of poverty. With more volunteers and funds, we can reach more learners in the coming years – join the learning revolution and be the change! Volunteer! Donate! … or at least get a My School Card!
We’re holding thumbs for our 2010 matric’s results, and look forward to all the successes and challenges of 2011. But in the interim, let’s all enjoy the holidays 🙂
Viva ikamvanites, viva! Thanks for a truly remarkable and wonderful 2010.
Joy
While the education sector has been through some challenging times this year – especially the public sector strike that had a tremendous impact on the schooling system especially those schools in the townships, there has been many more satisfying accomplishments for IkamvaYouth along the way. During these trying times, IkamvaYouth took charge by helping our learners with more tutorial sessions during the week and on weekends which culminated to better academic results that a mojority of our learners have attained this year and of course we are very optimistic that our matriculants will do the same. All of this has been a testament to dedication and commitment of our goals. At the end of it all, one cannot forget but to mention the successfull and a well attended Prize giving ceremony hosted jointly by the Makhaza and Nyanga Branch on the 3rd December 2010. This event recognises the commitment and dedication of both our learners for achieving the best attendance for the year as well our tutors for freely and willingly giving their time, skills and talent to help us realise our goals. While the beneficiaries (i.e. leaners) were thrilled by receing the awards and of course the gifts that accomponied the certificates, one cannot forget to extend a word gratitude to people who made it all possible (our sponsors: Fedics who donated food and Appletiser who donated drinks, UCT Centre for Film and Media Studies who donated Nokia phones and a special thanks to Raimondo Trust for sponsiring our excursions, and many more who sponsored us with money, books, diaries etc)
To all our sponsors, IkamavaYouth is making an impact to our society because of your generosity and for that we are greatfull. Your donations makes it possible to continue making change in education despite the challenges we face everyday and of course the economic distress that we sometimes find ourselves.We look forward to working with you in the future.
To all our volunteers at large, IkamvaYouth and those we serve, deeply appreciate your contribution and thank you for making 2010 a year to remember.
Enyoy the festive season and all the goodness that it brings!
Sikelelwa is 16 years old. She has always struggled with her home situation; her mother lives in Durban and her father left the family when Siki was a child. She has lived with her aunt in Masi and her cousin who is also in the programme. A feeling of abandonment and not belonging coupled with resentment and anger has had a detrimental affect on her academic work as well as her personal development. However, she continues to show an admirable dedication and determination.
She has participated in IkamvaYouth’s tutoring programme at Masi Library since its inception, is an active member of the Branch Committee, and was one of the learners who completed the Philosophy Course. The impact upon her personal development has been profound; making dramatic progress in her language, communication, listening and academic skills. The Careers Indaba has been a highlight of her winter holidays for the past 2 years; ‘it brought youth together, challenged my confidence and taught me so much to think about – it has shown me the light’. The Indaba also gave her access to activities to satisfy her creative side that is often stifled by her situation.
Siki has a unique personality, which evoked bullying in her younger years and knocked her self-confidence. Through her participation in IkamvaYouth she has learned that she can be her and achieve for herself:
‘I work hard for myself and I want to get to a new height. I’ve learnt that when I want to achieve something I must do it for no one but myself’
Siki is a perfect example of how through IkamvaYouth’s academic and personal support, learners can flourish and believe in their futures. Furthermore it shows how role models are created through the programme. Siki has an aptitude for mathematics and accounting, but her personal goal is to be involved in PR and marketing – a career well suited to her special energy!
Lloyd Lungu