On the 17th of February 2016, a computer lab container arrived at the Ivory Park branch at Kaalfontein Secondary School. It will be great to see the sort of successes this achievement will allow us to bring about.
It was early in the morning and Ditiro (the Gauteng District Coordinator) was there monitoring the delivery of the container, a resource that will contribute greatly to the success of the branch. It has given us ,the staff, hope and we are eager to deliver one of IkamvaYouth’s key programmes – computer literacy. This will open up new learning experiences and opportunities for the learners and the branch staff.
The principal of the school said, “It has now given me a place of hope when I see this new implementation”. We strongly believe we are on a path to meeting all our objectives and the teachers and other school staff have borne witness to that.
We are even more dedicated to fulfilling our mission this year and wish all the IY staff and stakeholders a year of prosperity.
We are proud of our Masinites who achieved a 79% pass rate this year.
4% of them got a National Higher Certificate pass, 38% a Diploma pass and 38% a Bachelor pass.
We are wishing them all the best for their development in future.
Being an NGO whose sole responsibility is to ensure that the children in the society improve their marks and venture into post matric establishments, we have a number of people coming in and out of the centre. Therefore quality and comfortable furniture is essential for productivity, which is why we forward massive gratitude to TransUnion, GSK and CAF SA for the donation of office furniture, their support helps us continue in our mission to assist those in need from in and around our community. The generous support of individuals like them makes it possible for our organization to exist and to make the community a great place to live in. TransUnion donated office desks, a number of chairs, cabinets, a television, toaster and a microwave, items everyone at the office is excited about.
All the furniture is great especially the desks and comfortable chairs, and people have stopped fighting for the coordinators chair when she is not around, now there are plenty of comfortable chairs to go around. The setup looks very professional and can allow us to be more productive and these resources will be crucial for long term sustainability of our organisation. The need for quality studying/tutoring desks and chairs seemed small at first but we now realise how much it affects both concentration and productivity.
The look of amazement from anyone walking in is priceless, it is like they have just walked into an unfamiliar territory. Questions from the tutors and students enquiring about where the furniture came from have been coming in thick and fast. Some students even going on to say “We thank the donors immensely, we hope one day we meet them so we can extend our gratitude in person, and we hope they continue giving to other people in need like they did to us, God bless them”. One tutor who goes by the name Emeleo Mhlongo had this to say “The Donation received from TransUnion has brought great change in our office department, because now we have efficient desks to work on and Shelves wide enough to store more books for learners. Now we have a microwave for staff and tutors who carry lunch to the office. We also have swift relaxing chairs for better and longer concentration preventing back aches.”
We wish TransUnion, well in their new office and promise to enjoy all the “new” furniture for ours. Thank you again to all who contributed (TransUnion, GSK and CAF SA) and for supporting our efforts.`
If you were asked to spell “conscientious” on the spot, chances are you would not get it right immediately unless you are a spelling geek. If you ever thought that spelling words out loud was as easy as writing them down, then think again. The grade 8s and 9s of Makhaza would definitely tell you this as they participated in a spelling bee competition, on the afternoon of the 07th November 2015, organized by one of IkamvaYouth’s SuperHereos, Lungile Madela.
The first round commenced with over 60, grade 8 &9 spellers, keen on taking the spelling bee champion title. There were 3 adjudicators for the day to assist with the process, namely; Yanga Totyi(Branch Assistant), Busiswa Wana(Intern), Lungile Madela(Tutor) and some of the tutors were present to support and cheer these Ikamvanites on. As the competition progressed, the number reduced as more spellers “fell” at spellings of words like “jurisdiction”, “randomly”, “trigonometry” etc.
The competition got intense when it reached the top 6 stage, with each participant attempting to out-spell the other. One of the top 6, Zizipho Paule (grade 9) said, “I underestimated spelling these words. When I received the preparation material, I browsed through it and it looked very easy until I was actually on that stage and I had to spell. I will definitely pay more attention to words now!”
We congratulate these “oh so eloquent” spellers who made the top 3:
3. Ntombozuko Zothe (grade 9)
2. Zizipho Paule (grade 9)
1. Lonwabo Ngozana (grade 8)
We live in a generation where innovation is an important aspect to the classroom; to make learning more enticing, to take the “bore” out of school and to leave a lasting lesson on the learners. Lessons learnt by the participants will go a long way. It is the “small” ideas that leave a ripple effect. Education goes far beyond the “teacher in front of the room” method. Education involves new and fresh ideas, fun, participation……innovation. It was remarkable to see an alteration in perspectives about spelling, something taken so lightly passively. The grade 8s and 9s will never look at spelling the same again.
On the 26th of September, we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Chris Hani High School in Makhaza. The event was well attended, with an audience of more than 300 people; among whom were IY staff, learners, volunteers, parents, alumni, board members and representatives of funders and sponsors.
The programme for the AGM consisted of the presentation and approval of the 2014 Audited Financial Statements; approving the appointment of Grant Thornton as our 2015 auditors; the appointment and ratification of 3 new board members, and the presentation of our 2014 Annual report.
“If your dream doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough”, was the message from one of the outstanding alumni, Sinethemba Kameni, who provided a heart-warming account of his journey with IkamvaYouth. We were encouraged by his and other alumni’s stories; the progress they have made in their lives, and their willingness to come back and inspire the learners who are making their own journey with IkamvaYouth. Zukile Keswa shared his philosophy that says, ‘In life you need to start somewhere’, emphasising that his life’s work is about the impact he is making in his community. This resonated with our findings that 65% of our learners want to come back and become tutors, as our director, Joy Oliver pointed out in her report.
The crowd was entertained by IkamvaYouth learners and tutors who performed moving songs, enthralling dance and inspiring poetry at various intervals during the AGM.
For detailed information on the event, please refer to the minutes accessible the following link: AGM minutes
Please see the attendance register on the following link: AGM attendance register
Ikageng branch was honoured to have visitors from Department of High Education and Training Khetha. The aim of the day was to inform our learners about the different programmes that are offered from Universities, University of Technology and TVET Colleges nationally.With this in mind they encouraged the grade 12 learners to apply and submit their applications as most tertiary institutions are soon to be closing in August, whilst also encouraging the grade 11’s to work very hard and take note that most institution required grade 11 term 4 results for conditional acceptance into courses that learners show interest in and apply for.
The information session had two facilitators from DHET Khetha, Segopotso and Harriet who thoroughly explained the background and the main focus of Khetha, a department formed by Department of Higher Education and Training that deals with offering career guidance support. Khetha is career development servicehelpline which provides free career guidance support and information and advises for both youth and adults in need of such. The main objective of Khetha is to empower all South Africans in making informed career decisions and guiding them through processes that will results in positive career outcomes.
Further into the session, Harriet explained the difference between Universities, University of Technology and TVET Colleges, the various qualifications that are offered from different institutions and things that learner’s need to know before deciding their career path. She further went into details about how the different subject choice s influence and impact on a learner’s professional life.
Below are the insights she shared when deciding on a specific career path:
1. Self-knowledge– self- introspection is very important knowingwhat you like as person, your values, interest andskills
2.The world of work– Understanding and researching about the different companies that one is interested to work for, by visiting their web site more frequently and aligning yourself to the different opportunities that they are offering .
3. Training and learning opportunities –Knowing the various qualifications level such as (Certificates, Diploma & Degree) and the different entry requirements per Universities & Colleges
She further notified the learners about the various qualification that FET Colleges offers currently known as TVET College which are NCV( National Certificates Vocational) and to access these one would need to pass atleast Grade 9 to enrol into level 2.The requirements for Universities and Universities of Technology are slightly different, with these one would need to pass their grade 12 with a Bachelor or Diploma pass should they wish to enrol at these, they offer various programmes and also various qualifications which include Diploma, Degree, Honours, Masters & Doctorate qualifications.
Upon conclusion, they informed the learners and reminded them that Khetha gives the public access to a social media platform, email and telephone advisory service where they can get career information and they can send an sms, ‘please call me’ or even an email to Khetha helpline and a professional career advisor will assistant them with the relevant information.
Ikamvanites where overwhelmed with the fruitful career information workshop and everyone was given a chance to ask questions, Segopotso and Harriet were more than welcome to answer each and every question.
Ikamvanite are now ready to make the right choices!!! Thanks a lot to the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Lloyd Lungu