After their generous donation at the Nyanga branch, the Masi branch also recently received a multifunctional printer donation from PanSolutions. This Panasonic Wokio 8020 multifunctional printer can fax, print, copy and also scan documents. This is really a great resource for our ikamvanites to use for their academic work.
Thank you PanSolutions for the donation.
It is our second Monday at the Hearth and Soul Farm here in Stanford, Capetown, and the NSPW continues. Ikamvanites are over the hill with joy and the IY partners are amazed and curious to know more. We have representatives from Capitec, Tsiba, Sozo Foundation, Learning Trust, IkamvaYouth board and other supporting individuals. The day started with a super fantastic exercise from Ilana, and then Mignon got us engaged with the understanding of the IkamvaYouth Vision and model. We had a team task that left everyone very excited. Ikamvanites and partners were divided into five groups of eight each, and were provided with materials to build a stage were all members of the group could stand and make a presentation. Having learnt the role of teamwork, and the great value of bringing together resources and ‘expertise’, all participants worked together to build one stage, and were not keen to work separately. The stage was finished in time, and all of the over 40 participants were on stage, singing melodiously mentioning all they had learnt in the week. The lessons learnt from the task, is how to work as a team and how each of our contributions are vital to reaching our goal. After that we had a wonderful lunch from our great chef and then hard-core stuff started with the strategy ideas being brought up in the room. We were aiming for the sky, and none of us felt like they were being left behind to this amazing journey that is about to start. The results of this strategy session left everyone eager to start working the following day and committed to reaching the 2030 goal.
Great Ideas are born from nothing.
Nyanga branch continues to benefit from IY’s relationship with our partners and sponsors. In July this year, we shared on our Facebook group, that our computer lab was being installed . Today, barely 3months later, we sit beaming with pride and amazement at what the computer lab has enabled us to achieve in such a short space of time. Our Grade 8s, 9s and 10s have each had 22 sessions of Khan Academy, a Maths tutoring program aimed at helping learners hone their Math skills and in our learners’ case, also get regular and ongoing exposure to computers. Our Grade 11s have had 7sessions of Operation Fikelela, our computer literacy program, facilitated by our dedicated volunteers. All our Grade 8s, 9s and 10s each have their own email addresses and are excited to discover a world wider than their own, through the internet.
A very special thank you to all our partners who have made this possible; Andrew Einhorn, the US Embassy and thePotter Foundation. Your support is greatly appreciated here at Nyanga.
On Saturday the 8th of September, Nyanga held its termly parents’ meeting at Zolani Centre. The meeting was well attended, with 41 of our 69 learners represented by parents, guardians and other family members.
The meeting was three-fold, aiming at explaining, informing and understanding all matters pertaining to IY and the learners we work with. Many of our parents do not know what IY does and the meeting was a good platform for them to come, meet staff members and some of the volunteers and engage with them. The parents had many questions ranging from kick out policies, lateness policies and how to instill discipline in their children. There was also a lot of praise and acknowledgment of IY’s positive contribution in the lives of the learners.
One of the parents, Mrs Gwegwe said, ‘I thank IkamvaYouth for what they have done for my family. I never expected to see a computer in my home but my child was given a computer. Continue the good work Ikamva.’
Thank you to all our parents who attended and sent delegates on their behalf, and a huge thank you to Nyanganites for making this meeting a success.
Saturday 15th September dawned a bright and sunny day, which was fitting for Nyanganites who were participating in the coastal cleanup day at Monwabisi beach near Khayelitsha.
IYWC was invited to take part in the coastal cleanup by Andreas Stoll of ERM and Nyanganites were up for the challenge. Armed with gloves and black bags, the learners walked along the beach, picking up litter and having a good time.
One Nyanganite, Lubabalo Dwabayo said, ‘I enjoyed doing the cleanup because we made the beach clean and got to swim in the ocean’.
Well done to Nyanganites for being environmentally conscious!
A mentoring workshop was held at the Ebony Park branch during the weekend, fascilitated by Nomfuzo Ntolosi, a life coach, of The Coaching Centre, with experience in running mentorship workshops. Aspects covered by the the workshop include:
– career mentoring, the responsibilities of a mentor and mentee
– the mentoring approach, managing expectations, boundaries, relationship building, signing on and smooth dissolution
– looking after (self) the mentor
– communication with Ikamva Youth as well as identifying risks
There are already some Grade 12 learners who have been matched with a mentor. The mentor commits to two hours’ communication every month through various forms of communication networks. The first meeting is facilitated by the IkamvaYouth office, where the mentor will get to meet the mentee, and they will sign a mentorship agreement. Thereafter, the IkamvaYouth office must be informed of any meetings away from the office, to which the mentee’s parent or guardian must consent. Grade 12 learners were part of the participants and this workshop gave them insight on what mentorship is all about.
The current and potential mentors who attended were from African Bank, The Helen Suzman Foundation, MISTRA as well as the tutors from Ivory Park and Ebony Park branches. The turnout for the event was great, regardless of the rainy and chilly weather. The session was interactive which gave participants an opportunity to express their views as well as their experiences throughout the session.
The overall feedback was that it was an informative, very helpful session and was ideal to give a head start for mentoring young people in any given setting. A positive response was received from the evaluations done at the end of the workshop. Thank you to everyone that attended regardless of the weather conditions, your attendance made this workshop a success. The target is to have all grade 12 learners mentored, and thus we look forward to having more mentors coming on board. We are also looking forward to all the fruits that the mentoring will bear in ensuring the learners access tertiary opportunities, and are motivated to achieve in life.
Lloyd Lungu031 909 3590
lloyd@ikamvayouth.org
2525 Ngcede Grove, Umlazi AA Library, 4031
Lloyd is a self-disciplined and highly goal-driven Industrial Psychology Honours graduate. He is currently a Master's candidate completing his second year of M.Com in Industrial Psychology at the University of the Free State. Lloyd joined IkamvaYouth as a learner in 2012, after matriculating he came back and volunteered as a tutor for the duration of his undergraduate studies at UKZN. He later worked as an Intern in the Chesterville branch. His passion for youth empowerment and inclusion has grown enormously through his time and experience gained within IkamvaYouth and has inspired him to provide career guidance to young township people. He is currently working at the Umlazi Branch as a Branch Assistant.