It was a winter day, we were blessed with beautiful, warm and clear weather; when the IkamvaYouth career expo took center stage during the IkamvaYouth Winter School program in Gauteng at our Ebony Park branch. IkamvaYouth during this expo hosted over four hundred students who are learners registered with the organization; as well as the community of Ebony Park and Ivory Park.
Upon arrival around 08:45, exhibition stands from different institutions had already been put up. I even asked myself if these different institutions slept over at our center or what; as they had arrived so early in the morning. The great news was that they were all ready to give information and education needed most by our youth. The Career Expo and the entire IkamvaYouth Winter School program could have not been such a success, if it was not for an equally dedicated team of IkamvaYouth staff and volunteer/tutors.
I entered through the gates of IkamvaYouth centre in the Ebony Park branch, for a moment I forgot that I was in a township. I mean, we had exhibitors from many organizations and institutions that I am sure will share valuable information and knowledge with our leaners and the Ebony Park community at large. Learners looking lovely in their school uniforms from surrounding schools such as Tsosoloso High School; Midrand High school; Oracle High School; Eqinisweni High School; Umqhele High School; Ivory Park High School; and Kaalfontein High School. Charming friendly and energetic IkamvaYouth staff and volunteer/tutors were ready to facilitate and co-ordinate the Career Expo.
I would not name drop, but because of the special and welcoming speech Modjadji (Branch Assistant from the Ivory Park branch) made; I just had to name drop. She said something that really appealed to me, in her words “Knowledge is for us to share”. So I bit my fingers and ensured that leaners got the information if not from me, then from the many exhibitors we had at this Career Expo.
It is sad to hear that Zandile, Branch Coordinator from Ivory Park branch, is leaving us soon, for Japan. Wishing her success in her future, it is inspiring to see youth making moves and going international. Though she is needed at IkamvaYouth, it is only right for us to allow her to spread her wings and follow her dreams. An emotional farewell speech she made- truly she will be missed. After the official opening of the Expo round ten o’clock learners got the opportunity to visit exhibition stands.
Leaners were ushered in different teams headed by one volunteer, to the many different exhibition stands. Every thirty minutes throughout the day, leaners would be lead back inside the hall, to listen to informational presentations from tertiary institutions and private organizations. Absa, one of our sponsors, gave a presentation about their services and career opportunities learners can take advantage of.
University of Witwatersrand also made a presentation about careers available at the university and how to apply at the university. Dr Kubeka from the University of Johannesburg gave an educational session about choosing subjects in High School, and career decisions.
Going through the exhibition stands with a team of learners I was responsible for was fun. Wits University was exhibiting; PC Training and Damelin College as well. A stand from College Campus and Boston Media House was also in the area. Mindset Learning channel 319 on DSTV was present and even recorded some of the learners who sent shout-outs to their families and friends. Central Johannesburg College were exhibiting as well as MSC College. Open Window had me wishing for a career in visual media and TPG College also came. National Heritage Council also came, as always we have been blessed with the presence of the Tzu Chi Foundation.
Before I could even admit I was hungry, it was lunch time. Amazing how time flies when you having fun. We are very grateful to ABI for providing refreshments. After eating, I really felt like I could lie down and enjoy some rest; but oh no, learning still continued. After lunch then walking with my learners we visited some more exhibition stands before I led them back inside the hall for more presentations. We then listened to a presentation from Consulting Engineers South Africa; they really made a career in engineering interesting. Harambee an employment agency made their presentations; myself and other community members had the chance to register our names on their employment seekers database. I am glad I came.
Open Window College and College Campus closed off the presentations after three o’clock. It has been a lovely and informational day for me, learners and the community of Ebony Park. The Career Expo has been a success and I am certain the same could be said about the entire IkamvaYouth Winter School program. What more can I say Ikamvanites, we did it again, and will continue doing it. IkamvaYouth the future truly is in our hands!!
Week two of Makhaza Winter School has come to an end. What an amazing experience it has been for the learners. Learners and tutors have participated in numerous tutoring sessions, including workshops and excursions.
Tutoring sessions included subjects such as, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Technology, History, Accounting, and Economics etc. Grade 8 learners indicated English and Technology as their most difficult subjects, since last week they have shown improvement with these subjects and were given numerous exercises to put what they have learned into practice. Grade 9 learners were focused on science this week and wrote an assessment test in which they performed very well. Grade 10 has been doing science and commerce subjects since the previous week. They have written Physics and Mathematics tests and have shown great improvement in these topics. Grade 11 learners have been attending Computer Literacy classes and did Chemistry in one of the science laboratories at UCT, which was a great experience for them and made them much more passionate about going to tertiary after school.
Reel Lives
This week touched on various topics that brought in great discussions as the learners could relate to these issues. Topics like HIV, Drugs, Rape, Poverty, Motherhood were discussed with audio and visual presentations. One of the students said, “I feel lucky to be a part of this workshop. I have learnt a lot about the reasons why these issues still exist. Most of us here have been affected by such problems and now we know how to not fall in these traps.”
Trip to the Jewish Museum
Learners were taken to the Jewish Museum this week and it was truly a refreshing experience. It came as a surprise to learn that a lot of learners did not have much knowledge about the Jewish culture and their history. The group learnt about Holocaust, Judaism, formation of Israel and the life of Jewish people in the modern society, as well as how what happened many years ago in far away countries have lessons to teach us about Xenephobia and violence in our own country.
Save our Seas
Cape Town being a coastal city makes it really important for our learners to understand the importance of our marine and world ecosystem. Learners were given information about the life that exists in the water and the importance of plants and animals that it’s a habitat too. There was a long discussion and information on sharks. Points like they are not as dangerous as people think and how they can be saved from extinction were discussed.
HIV Testing
South African’s have been hugely affected by the problem of HIV. The only way to get rid of this problem is making youth aware of this. Learners voluntarily went through the HIV testing. They were given important points on how to avoid getting the infection, the latest discoveries and remedies that have changed the way HIV affects us today and the myths people have about HIV. The learners raised a lot of important points and they seemed satisfied by the information they received and how it will help them in future.
Mandisi Gladile, a ex learner and long term committed tutor had to say this about the winter school. “The winter school for this year I feel was uniquely incredible. It was a positive and a productive two week-program packaged for both learners and tutors to take home. I am pretty much convinced that all our ikamvanites are a step ahead than they were before in terms of understanding their school work better and also the exposure to various interesting activities that this program presented to them, and for me personally as a tutor it was once again a great honor being part of all of this.”
And finally it was disappointing to realize that the winter school has come to an end. The learner-mentor relationship that the tutors built with the learners was heart warming. At the end, we all wish that the learners benefitted from the winter school that will help them to excel in the exams.
Week One of Winter School Masiphumelele is coming to an end, and what a week it’s been! Each day, 82 students from Grades 9 to 12 and 16 tutors from around the globe gather at False Bay College in Fish Hoek for days filled with fun and lots of learning!
Over the course of the week, learners and tutors have engaged in numerous different tutoring sessions, which take place in the morning before lunch. All four Grades have participated in Operation Fikelela Computer Literacy Courses with great success so far: Grade 10 learners mastered formatting in Microsoft Word; Grade 9 learners created Gmail accounts and learned how to manage and send emails; Grade 11 learners created and typed CVs; and Grade 12 learners were introduced to Excel and practiced speed-typing.
Grade 9 Girls celebrating their new Gmail Accounts!
Tutoring sessions also included great courses in Maths, English, Science, Business and Economics, Accounting, Geography. In the Mathematics class, learners are far more active than we expected. Maths is often considered a difficult subject by teenagers. But in Winter School, our learners have demonstrated great passion and talent in this subject, especially when they make every effort to solve a difficult question by themselves before turning to the tutor. Some girls in Grade 12 would not even go to lunch before they completely understood a question! Tutoring sessions have been busy and complex, but quite useful. This year, we are fortunate to have tutors coming from 5 different countries around the world, all of whom bring their unique skills, passions, and past experiences to Winter School.
During teatime, learners grab biscuits and a cup of coffee, and can get some rest between two intensive tutoring sessions. Learners and tutors will often kick the soccer ball around the assembly hall, or play outside during lunch on the warmer days. We’ve also had lots of fun with our icebreakers and team-building activities!
The Workshop portion of each day has seen several dynamic and exciting sessions. One major highlight is the Physics and Chemistry Workshops with Kevin, where learners have had a blast doing fun experiments and learning about new scientific concepts. Grade 11 learners Sibongiseni and Ncebakazi mentioned that Winter School has been “fantastic” so far, because they’ve “met new people” and been exposed to “things we had never seen before, like the science experiments” in Kevin’s workshops. Lauren’s Media and Journalism learners have been working on interesting articles, and Film Studies learners have just completed “Freedom Writers.” In Entrepreneurship with Janna, learners engaged in a mindset-activating session, followed by a Scavenger Hunt of different businesses in Fish Hoek. The Innovative Solution competition winners during Entrepreneurship were a plan for a new restaurant in Masiphumelele, and an idea for a translator device that would help all South Africans communicate and understand each other’s languages.
We have also been lucky enough to have several guests volunteer their time with learners this week, including the wonderful folks at Reel Lives, the impressive Simphiwe Ndzube, an art student at UCT who grew up in Masi, and the talented Cape Music Institute. Today, the Masiphumelele Clinic is joining us to run HIV testing with the learners.
Stay tuned for the announcement of Learner prizes, which will be awarded to students who demonstrate enthusiasm and positive attitudes, and for our update on the second week of Winter School. We can’t wait to see what else is in store! Check out this link for even more pictures of what we have got up to so far.
If you are interested in dropping by please contact:
Johnlyn Tromp – 079 885 4318
Johnlyn@ikamvayouth.org
Nyanga’s 2013 Winter School got off to a great start, with 75 learners hosted by TSiBA! The Nyanganites have had a great first week of tutoring, workshops, excursions, team building and all-round fun.
Ms Lindelwa Hanjana, our TSiBA host welcomed us warmly and said the following: ‘’Of course we want IkamvaYouth here. We want young people to learn and we are glad to have the learners at TSiBA for the Winter School program.’’
In the first week, learners had a variety of workshops, led by a huge range of workshop facilitators
HR and money workshops by Capitec bank
Capitec Bank delighted the learners by showing up for their workshops with a sound system, and a colourful set-up and décor arrangement. Learners were ushered into the workshop venue to the sound of contemporary music, but soon the workshop started and the learners learnt about CV writing and other job-related skills that they will Their second session included all the grades and the team spoke to the learners about using, saving and investing money wisely. Learners got prizes for a variety of things, including, but not limited to great participation, good listening and giving good answers to questions posed.
Suzelda Windvoel, a Grade 10 learner said the following after the workshop: ‘ I really liked the money skills workshop. It showed me that I must be clever with my money and buy things I need; not waste it on things I want.’
Creative expression workshop by Nelisa Ngqulana
Nelisa Ngqulana, our Head of MIE, ran creative expression workshops with learners, where they learnt how to write poems and express themselves creatively. It was difficult for the learners at first, but with time, each learner got to write something. At the end of the session, the group read all the poems and voted on the top 3, which got the honour of appearing in our first issue of IkamvaYouth News, Nyanga upcoming magazine, being run by the Media, Image and Expression portfolio.
Media workshops by Reel Lives
In the first week, the group taking media and journalism workshops went through workshops covering a wide variety of issues that young people face in their everyday lives. The facilitators used the ikamvanites’ Reel Lives videos from 2012 as starting points and the bases of the discussions. The discussion touched on interesting, yet sensitive topics such as motherhood, fatherhood, family, gangsterism, culture, and homosexuality. The learners who made the videos were available for question and answer sections and the workshops were very emotional, as learners identified with the whole range of issues covered by their peers’ documentaries.
One of the learners had this to say, after one of the sessions: ‘It is very emotional to see this film because it deals with things that are already happening in our lives.’
Life skills by Nebulas
Rayne Moses of Nebulas spoke to learners about skateboarding and using your interests in a positive way. After sharing the story of his process towards starting a skateboarding organisation, he asked the learners to give their reasons for attending Winter School. The learners opened up to the facilitators and spoke about some of the difficulties they face, and the dreams they have, which will help them overcome those difficulties.
Rayne closed off the session with words of encouragement to the learners and encouraged them to stick to their dreams and what they believe in, because these things will come to pass, if they work towards it and do not get discouraged by obstacles.
Entrepreneurship and business by Silulo
Luvuyo Rani ran a workshop on Entrepreneurship and Business with a group of learners, who were very touched by what he said. He quickly enabled the learners to identify with him by telling them the story of his upbringing, which, like all our learners, was in the townships. He spoke about his journey growing up and eventually starting his own business, which is now a big enterprise in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
The learners’ appreciation of this workshop is perhaps captured best by Mr Rani’s words at the end of the workshop, where he said that, ‘The vote of thanks I received from (a learner) touched me very much. I am happy and I feel that I made a real difference just talking to them about where I’ve come from.’
History and Social Justice by the Jewish museum
Nyanganites also went on excursion at the Jewish museum and the learners were very excited to have an off-site workshop. Our host, Tamara Guinsberg welcomed the group warmly and in smaller groups, the learners got a tour of the museum. The group learnt about the Holocaust, the history of the Jewish people and the richness of Jewish culture, and the facilitators juxtaposed it all with contemporary issues of xenophobia and other discrimination that happens in a South African context, which the learners can relate to. This workshop was a very rich and enriching experience for the learners and on of our volunteers noted the following: ‘this workshop shouldn’t just be for some learners. I learnt so much and I think everyone can learn a lot from this experience. For the coming years we should make it a workshop that every learner participates in.’
Marine Conservation by Save our Seas
Although Cape Town is a coastal city, the marine world is somewhat removed from the everyday reality of our learners and a workshop by Save Our Seas brought this home. Paul and Zanele from the Shark Centre ran an awesome workshop on sharks and their importance in the marine and therefore world eco-system. To kick off the session, Paul asked the learners what they knew about sharks and all answers mentioned sharks as dangerous predators that bite and eat people, and should therefore be feared. The Save our Seas team then debunked the shark and explained how sharks live, breed, what they eat and revealed the number of people who are actually bitten by sharks each year, which is much less than what people believe.
Our learners got the opportunity to view and touch shark skeletons, teeth, skins, eggs and other shark-bits and came away from the workshop more knowledgeable about the world in the deep blue sea.
Life Skills by Inspired Inc.
One can never have enough life-coaching, and Bradley van Reenen from Inspired Inc proved this as he ran an exciting life coaching workshop with our learners. This workshop covered identity, goal setting and dreams and before long, even the quietest learners were embracing their vulnerability and sharing their deep-seated dreams and life goals with fellow Nyanganites. It was a very touching session and learners encouraged one another, and got encouragement from Bradley, who assured and reassured them of their ability to rise up to the levels they have set for themselves. The session ended off with each learner writing down their dreams as a reminder for themselves, each day, until they fulfill those dreams.
SAAO
Our Technology and Engineering stream got a chance to work with their hands and make telescopes under the guidance of Cedric from the SAAO. Using simple apparatus, namely cardboard, paper, glue, pins and lenses, the learners made telescopes and before the afternoon was out, they were outside, trying out their new telescopes and engaging in some daylight star-gazing!
Team building, by IY tutors
It has been an event-filled and exciting weekend for learners, tutors and staff members and by the end of the first week, everyone was feeling the strain of the early mornings, the morning cold and the buzz of activity that has been week 1 of Winter School. To give the learners a break and to foster good relationships among the different grades, we had a team-building exercise on Friday afternoon, where the learners got into groups made up of the different grades, and each had a tutor facilitating.
It was rewarding and sweet to witness the learners affirming one another, talking about the things they liked about each other and then sharing the things they are proud of in themselves, that they wish others knew about them.
A huge thank you to all our partners for the workshops, and for putting up with our venue changes, our excited learners, and our busy staff and volunteers. A huge thank you to TSiBA for accommodating us in our large numbers, and finally, thank you to our volunteers and learners for the energy, the commitment and the passion for education, which is the reason why we are here. To week 2 and beyond!
If you would like to come by and see what we up to please contact:
Shuvai – 079 885 4372
shuvai@ikamvayouth.org
Today was the first day of winter school, the day all the learners, tutors and volunteers were waiting for! You could see the excitement on the faces of everyone that arrived at Upper Campus on Monday. This week the learners are based in the Arts Block on Upper Campus at UCT. We have a lot of international volunteers helping us this year from all over the world – Hong Kong, India, Canada, the Netherlands, China, as well as many ex matrics from 2012 coming back as first time tutors.
One of our grade 8 learners said, “ I loved coming to UCT with my friends this morning – we had a great time in the bus. Seeing these amazing buildings and the campus motivates me to get great marks and get a degree in Science from UCT – I’m se excited for winter school!”
Thi week we have various workshops happening, one of the very contentious ones were when students were divided into two groups and were asked to debate for/against on topics like HIV Testing, legalisation of drugs and life imprisonment. I was surprised to hear some of the issues that learners brought up, showing the knowledge and reasoning skills they posses.
Other workshops this week are centred around various subjects – Science and Technology, Media and Journalism, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Helath and Life Skills and Creative Expression. On Monday I was in the Entrepreneurship workshop that was held by Justin, an Entrepreneur and a manager of a Consulting company. He said, “I am very excited about lecturing to these students today. I had a similar childhood and did not come from a wealthy family. A lot of these students may end up being future entrepreneurs like me. Its just a push, confidence and awareness they need.”
Capitec bank provided a morning workshop where learners were exposed to the skills that the employers look for in applicants and career guidance was provided with resume writing and interview skills. Andrea Sanke is running history workshop for the 2 weeks which is was very interesting to the learners. This week she was lecturing on the different government styles in different parts of the world. She told the students about the importance of knowing about history, different cultures and how they have shaped the world we live in. One of the learners said, “I feel that I know so much more about Africa now and the struggle some countries went through including South Africa to be what it is today.” This week Reel Lives are also providing workshops – they are using media to support education, empowerment and social change. Learners got the opportunity to watch videos that were made by other Ikamvanites.
This is just a taste of what has happened at the beginning of last week, we are so excited for what is to come!
If you are interested in seeing what we are up to please contact:
Zukile – 079 885 4364
Zukile@ikamvayouth.org
Hyperion is a South African student based organisation. Their goal is to see IT and Computer Science being promoted more throughout South Africa- starting with Universities and Schools in South Africa.
Hyperion wants to work with IkamvaYouth by training Ikamvanites learners in Gauteng to be star programmers in web development, Python and Java. They offer free training in computer programming and web development to absolutely anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re in high school, university or even a lecturer- they will help you develop IT skills based on your needs. Their entire lessons are done over the internet, you can also arrange one-on-one lessons with their tutors face-to-face or over the internet.
They do not only promote IT and Computer Science, but also donate computers to Schools; currently they are on the verge of donating computers to one of our feeder schools in Gauteng (Tsosoloso Ya Afrika). On the 18th of January, they went to Riverdene Secondary School located in Newlands west. The school was in need of computer equipment and Hyperion was there to donate computers. They currently have resources to fund the installation of about 120 computers for Education purposes.
A number of Ikamvanites took time to look into the program and this is what they had to say;
“It’s essential and beneficial for everyone to have knowledge of IT and Computer Science”-Sfiso Baloyi (tutor)
“It’s a great program for one to familiarize with IT and Computer Science” Kabelo Mashele (Grade 12 Learner)
We hope every learner in South Africa will be equipped with the necessary IT and Computer skills for years to come.
Written by Michael Thema (Ebony Park Branch Assistant)
Lloyd Lungu