Since 2003, IkamvaYouth has over 1000 learners complete their matric. Our alumni are encouraged to continue to be involved in the organisation as tutors and mentors, and can even see themselves working for the organisation as interns/full time staff members, or even serving on the board!
Zukile Keswa (Zuks), joined the organisation as a grade 11 learner in 2004. During his tertiary studies, he came back to IkamvaYouth to serve as a volunteer tutor. Zuks was the first alumn to become an IkamvaYouth staff member in 2011, starting as the Makhaza Branch Assistant. Since then, he’s held a number of roles in the organisation, and is now the Gugs Comp Branch Coordinator.
This year, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming quite a few of our alumni back to IkamvaYouth as staff members. One such alumn, is Phelela Mokwana, who matriculated in 2008. Here’s what she had to say about her new role in the organisation:
“I was once a learner at Ikamva during my high school days from 2006-2008. I’m now working as a B.A for Makhaza branch. My experience working at Ikamva is amazing. I’ve started working during winter school 2016, It just reminded me of the days when I was a student, seeing learners engaging themselves in the the tutoring space and the commitment of tutors has just reminded me of why I came back to work for Ikamva.
Through the journey of being in and out of companies has just made me discover my potential which is
working in empowering young minds, helping them to achieve good results, helping them to become positive role model in their communities and have a dignified living.“
Phillip Mcelu, who matriculated back in 2006, just joined the team this month. This is what he had to say about coming back to IkamvaYouth:
“I am happy to have found my way back to the IY family, as I am an alumnus from the Makhaza class of 2006! I’ve been working in the ICT industry for the last 5 years and am excited to be starting as the Tech Coordinator for IY. I’m looking forward to building a national network and sharing my ICT knowledge with my IY family.”
Below are the alumni that joined the IkamvaYouth body of staff this year:
And now… IkamvaYouth is seeking an alum to be a board member of the organisation. The successful alumni will learn a great deal about what it takes to run an organisation.
Level of Commitment required:
- The Board requires a commitment of four board meetings a year (lasting approximately 2 hours) as well as prepare for the board meetings which will take approximately 2-3 hours.
- There may be other ad hoc events that the board member will be required to attend.
- The successful alum will not get paid for his or her time but will be making a meaningful contribution to the running of IkamvaYouth.
Areas of expertise sought (any of the following):
- HR
- Sustainability
- Leadership
- Fundraising
- Finance
- Passion or interest in the education of disadvantaged youth
Serving on the board of IkamvaYouth is a wonderful, enriching experience, especially for someone early in their career. Aside from the joy of working for a public good, it can broaden your experience and skills, which might help you find your next job. For more details of what being a board member entails, please click HERE, where you’ll find our constitution.
If you would like to nominate any alumn for this position, please click HERE.
Change is not quite easy, and Friday the 15th of January 2016 proved testament to that.
Alongside the branch staff and District office, were tutors and resident contractors who were assisting with the official move of the Ivory Park office.
Under a threateningly cloudy and occasionally sunny sky- cabinets, desks, files and kitchen appliances were the order of the day. Considering the challenges, with resilience, the team managed to move all the office property from one container to a brand new one.
Aching backs, scratched fingers and dusty shoes later, we managed to establish our new spot on the Kaalfontein Secondary School premises. If there is one thing to learn from this experience, is that you have to get up, and keep getting up!
Moyisi’s(Tutor) chants declaring his manhood kept us motivated and entertained, whilst Khutso (Tutor) and Lerato (Branch Coordinator) kept wondering about the condition of their nails, and multi-toned skin from being in the sun. We reminisced about the memories we made in our old container and the possibilities the new container will have for us.
At the end of the day we all need to appreciate that fresh beginnings mean new perspective and a brand new attitude.
To office moves and beyond, Ivory Park is looking forward to a productive 2016 with all its stakeholders.
Thank you to everyone who assisted in this big move!
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
The 2013 IkamvaYouth Annual Report highlights the remarkable achievements that we have made in 2013 by enabling disadvantaged youth to pull themselves and each other out of poverty with education.You can view the full annual report here but here are some of the highlights from 2013:
- 92% of our learners passed their matric (including supplementary exams); 62% achieved a bachelor pass (compared to 30.6% nationally) and 90% of our learners accessed a post school opportunity (tertiary, learnership or employment);
- The first survey of IkamvaYouth’s alumni was conducted. The findings were more encouraging than we could have hoped: IkamvaYouth learners are almost half as likely to drop out of tertiary studies, four times more likely to graduate and are three times less likely to not be in education or employment than the average South African young person.
- IkamvaYouth WON the Stars Award which exists to reward outstanding local organisations improving the lives of children in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. IkamvaYouth WON in the category of Education in Africa and the Middle East.
Thank you for taking the future into your hands, and to holding ours. Let’s keep reaching for the stars together.
©Neo Ntsoma/Majority World
If you are having trouble with the link please click on the below link:
ikamvayouth_annual_report_2013.pdf
The Ivory Park branch team is very excited and motivated after securing a new tutoring venue and office at Kaalfontein Secondary School. Venue instability has threatened the branch’s existence for very long, following a short notice eviction from the Ivory Park Youth Centre in December 2013. This was due to political controversies raised by the Greater Midrand Youth Council (GMYC) management committee leading to imposition of threats that could compromise the safety and security of IkamvaYouth staff, volunteers and learners.
The branch was then temporarily housed at the Ivory Park Community Stadium where space issues were still not entirely solved as learners were studying crowded in a very small hall that was also shared with Churches. The Ivory Park branch staff was also temporarily accommodated at the Ebony Park branch in a small and unsafe office. The staff would travel to the tutoring venue for every tutoring sessions. The conditions at the stadium did not allow learners to makeup days or come study at any times as tutoring was restricted to only 3 days a week as per the agreed MOU. The venue also made it difficult for staff to invite or meet with stakeholders as well as to track, meet and help the grade 12 learners with applications. Learners could not benefit from resources like photocopying, internet and full support from staff due to these conditions.
Moving to Kaalfontein Secondary and securing enough space for tutoring and office has opened up unlimited opportunities that include opening up of a computer lab that will benefit Ikamvanites and the school from 2015. Communicating and meeting stakeholders would be more convenient, all learners will benefit from the programme equally, being able to access the required support to ensure improved pass marks and success at matric level, and recruiting and retaining volunteers would be manageable with a stable venue.
I would like to acknowledge the interventions made by our stakeholders, to mention Kaalfontein School Principal and the SGB, TziChi as well as the IkamvaYouth team for playing a significant role in making this venue possible despite all challenges faced.
Following the success of the matric camp in 2013, the WC team ran the second annual matric camp following directly on after the two weeks of winter school in July. This year saw 85 matrics from the Western Cape branches as well as from the Eastern Cape get together for a week getaway at the Rotary Glencairn camp site, for 5 days of intensive tutoring, academic workshops and exam practice.
The first day saw all the learners arriving at the site and participating energetic team-building exercises to help break the ice as learners started interacting more freely across the branches, working collectively to earn points for their various teams. True to ikamvanite culture, tutoring started in earnest from day one and the learners spent the rest of the afternoon working through past exam papers and Answer Series guides.
Throughout the camp learners have all managed to take part in a variety of activities aimed at preparing them for their final exams and tertiary studies. From intensive tutoring and exam practice to workshops around how to study effectively and evening self study times.
While the camp is a serious study boot camp, with tutoring happening from early in the morning until late into the night, the learners found the time to energise themselves through the terrible weather with an impromptu talent show where learners mixed things up between branches for an evening of singing, dancing, stand up comedy and drama. I’m convinced the next MC Solaar is in this group!
Sixolisiwe sibebosi , a volunteer said the following: ‘The matric camp was very productive to me. Firstly everything was well prepared, the kids were hungry to learn something and that gave me a lot of courage and it motivated me to make sure that I give all and make a change. IkamvaYouth changed my life and I also passed my matric because of IkamvaYouth and matric camp so it was a minor thing for me tor do, I wish I could do more.’
Bonke Sibunzana, a learner from Masi said the following, ‘what I liked about matric camp was how committed the tutors were. They encouraged us to use the tutoring time wisely. I also like how united we were as ikamvanites. We showed love and support for each other ‘, while Nobulali Swaartbooi from Nyanga said ‘Matric camp was a great experience. It was great learning with people from different schools and coming together with all our different ideas.’
This strongly echoes IY’s value of peer-to-peer sharing and IY is excited to witness the fruit of the Matric camp as the learners write their mock exams in September and final exams in November.
A very special thank you to Pick’n Pay Fish Hoek, for generously supplying camp catering, and ensuring that all our learners, volunteers and staff are well fed every day of the camp; Rotary for their beautiful camp sites and ERM for the donation of solar lamps for all our matric learners. This gives out learners going into their final exams the opportunity to study at home in the evenings, thanks ERM!
Good luck for the final exams IY 2014 Matric Class!
Lloyd Lungu