I was part of the history group so we were taken to the District 6 museum. We were told about District 6 and the different places formed for different people. I didn’t think I would be interested in history, but when we arrived at the museum, it was really interesting. We went around the museum and saw different things being displayed. We did an activity where we had to find things in the museum. There were great poems displayed on the floor of the memorial hall, and you had to choose one but I ended up choosing two because all those poems were good. We were sad because the fun had to end so we went back to TSIBA .
Snaza Dlakovu, Grade 8
The physics and chemistry group was very fun. At first I didn’t understand what we were going to do, because there were these funny machines that I had never seen before. The teacher, Nomfundo, told us that we were making an alarm. I was so confused and shocked because I had never made an alarm before. So many thoughts went through my head. I had never made an alarm before. I made the alarm and when I was confused or didn’t put the material in a right way the tutors were there to help us. When it was time to put the batteries in, everything was good, the sound and the lights were good. It made a good sound, and I was so proud. I wish to do something as exciting today.
Modelwa Ranisi, Grade 8
Yesterday I watched a movie called Human Planet on how people around the world stay alive. I learned how other people find or make their own food. The people shown get their food in the sea. What I loved about the movie, was that the people rely on one another just to feed their families. The whole village or island works together just to put food on the table. Another thing that I loved was that even though hunting for fish in the sea is very hard, people in those countries or islands never give up. They risk their own lives for their people. What I didn’t love was that people in those countries did very dangerous jobs and that is high risk, but I learned that giving up wont help you. You have to struggle to get or to achieve what you want. The movie inspired me a lot, and I wish I could go to sea and try to hunt fish.
Sinazo Maqolu, Grade 8
At the District Six Museum, we learned about the forced removal of people. It was cool. There was a man named Mr. Williams who was one of the people who were forced to move out of their own homes to other countries. We asked him how it felt, and he said it was very painful. Yesterday made me very serious about my future and very confident about it. I want to thank Ikamva Youth for the opportunity they gave me.
Sinazo Kula, Grade 8
Approximately 120 Ikamva Makhaza learners have gathered today on the TSIBA campus to kick off this year’s Winter School. It will run from Tuesday, 28th June to Friday, 8th July. This morning the learners attended opening speeches and general orientation. They then were divided into interest streams and participated in a short icebreaker session within these groups. These games were followed by tutoring and a delicious lunch, prepared by a former Ikamvanite and now a professional chef, Lungelo. Learners are most excited about this Winter School’s workshops, which range from magazine design to science labs at UCT. This afternoon learners are engaged in various interesting activities–some are building satellite models with volunteers from CPUT; others are visiting the District Six museum.
Look forward to more news about the exciting events of the upcoming two weeks!
written by Ikamva learners
It was a trip that I will never forget because I learned so many things. I enjoyed going to Clanwilliam because I learned about rock art, how the bushmen used to live, and also about the rocks and plants. I learned more about the Table Mountain, for example that it is made out of sandstone. I’ve been asking myself how this big place could have been made out of sand. Then we arrived to Clanwilliam. Although the village is small, it is a fun and interesting place. Next morning we woke up early to go see the San rock art. We saw paintings of men, women and animals and learned about how they were painted and also what they tell us about the San. Then we went back to Cape Town.
The part of the trip that I enjoyed the most was having fun with my friends and eating good food. Another thing that I enjoyed was talking to the UCT students who went on the trip with us. Overall, it was a good weekend.
Picture below: Ikamvanites listening to a guide
Special Thanks to Dr. Carl Palmer and the sponsors of this trip
On 21st and 22nd May learners, tutor, volunteers and staff joined us at the Masiphumelele Library to talk, to listen and to think, think, think about how to move the Masi IkamvaYouth branch forward. How to un-lock the potentials of even more young people and how to improve the lives of as many people as possible.
Everyone came with different expectations; wanting to know more about IkamvaYouth’s history; proposing new ways of partnering; presenting specific problems they wanted addressed; understanding how to be most useful as a volunteer; and how to move together in collective action. I hope no one was let down!
There was an atmosphere of sleepiness that filled the morning air. Even Nico’s funky chicken didn’t seem to work. As people understood that what they were saying was contributing to the wider IkamvaYouth’s aims; the realisation of the bigger picture; they became engaged and animated. Ideas were flowing all around.
The group was split into sub-groups to discuss core areas of tutoring, mentoring and community engagement. These categories were generated by an intense brainstorming of the burning issues. These task teams then identified the problems and started thinking about the solutions.
On Sunday morning, with fresh faces and minds we launched into a history of the branch to better understand the roots and values of the organisation and the library. This was hugely valuable for the ‘newbies’ who got a wonderful overview from Susan Alexander here.
It was in this frame of mind we generated an ambitious action plan for the next few months. Ideas and suggestions were put into action and given deadlines and specific tasks. The responsibility all lies on the BranchCom members to be proactive and make it happen. I have complete faith in the team. Everyone came and showed phenomenal commitment and, I for one was inspired by the energy in the room.
The 1st BranchCom will be held on the 2nd June to finalise these plans and make it happen! A special thanks to Pick n Pay for providing delicious sandwiches for the event to keep the energy up! Please see the spw_report.pdf for a detailed description of the discussions that took place.
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So. What do you get when you take 13 committed Ikamvanites from 3 provinces, bundle them into trains, planes and automobiles and ship them all the way to Kleinmond’s beautiful Grail Centre for a jam-packed week’s worth of crystalizing the big picture vision for our future? Well, if Day 1 is anything to go by … a whole LOT of fun and some serious hard work.
Amid a series of challenges, we all eventually arrived at the quaint coastal village with just enough energy to enjoy a special ‘Lungelo dinner’ before practically passing out to the sound of pine trees swaying above. Then it was up early and to work! We started out getting know the group better – in the modern NGO world of keeping costs low and mastering efficiencies, most of us have only ever met ‘virtually’ via Skype. Getting to know who we are, why we joined IkamvaYouth (for the ‘new’ knights) or why we are still with IY and sharing our skills and talents, we then looked at our expectations for the week.
Let me share a few of these with you now:
– The structure of IkamvaYouth and our channels of support
– Consolidating where we are and what we are doing well so we can build our vision for the future
– the Financial Matters of resources, processes, internal controls, budgets and reporting (roll on tomorrow!)
– Addressing learner, tutor and branch challenges using the pooled knowledge and experience of Ikamvanites from 5 National branches
We got right in and delved into the ‘structure’ of IY – now and where we want to be in the future. As Jo (Ivory Park, Branch Coordinator) said “we fell asleep and dreamed a dream…” which led us to some inspiring and creative organograms that better represent the kind of organisation IY is. And at the core of it is all are our LEARNERS!
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We looked at working with people as opposed to working ‘for’ people – that we are accountable to each other as part of a team – with Andrew (Gauteng Director) drawing an interesting analogy with a team sport – where you need team members, a captain, the infrastructure of field and a referee to make sure we are playing by the rules (especially when you are trying to get a stick on the ground. And when we are all on the same team, working towards a common goal, we need to communicate and the choose the words we use with care.
Another very important point that came out of our discussions and brainstorming is how our IY values need to be at the core of everything we do – and these encompass the entire organisation – from learners to BranchCom, staff, tutors and our Board. EVERYONE. And just to remind you briefly what they are:
– By youth, for youth
– Equality
– Integrity
– Thoughtfulness
– Transparency & Openness
– Diversity
– Commitment
– Pay-it-forward
– Collaborate
From there, we looked at the different roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders – learners, tutors, BranchCom, NatCom and the Board. And after that, it was a trip to the beach for a swim (our brave visitor from up north, Jo) and time to look at our personal roles and Key Performance Indicators. Yes, ma…we are all grown up!
Which brings us to where we are right now. After an award-winning dinner from our inhouse Table Bay chef, some of us are already in bed and dreaming of the bright future we have ahead us, others are working on their studies, forging friendships that will last a lifetime and then there are those of us who are busy blogging tonight and preparing to present tomorrow. Watch this space: there’s bound to be a Survivor – Finance Training update tomorrow…
Lloyd Lungu