The Mahikeng Branch in the North West is fortunate to have tutors who are committed to playing a vital role in the lives of Ikamvanites. These passionate tutors take time from their busy study schedules to help learners increase their chances of accessing a dignified living. What is exciting about our diverse team of tutors is the fact that it also includes students who are very close to completing their tertiary studies, which serves to further inspire our learners. Tutors not only dedicate their time, but also their knowledge and understanding of the different subjects they did in high school. They also ensure that by the time the learners leave the sessions they have a clearer understanding of their school work. The greatest thing about our tutoring sessions would be that learners show dedication to their work and reaching their life goals. While our learners focus on improving their performance, they also continuously inspire one another. Those learners who are performing fairly well use the tutoring space to assist one another through collaboration and peer-to-peer support. In the end the hard work the Ikamvanites put in pays off.
The tutors see a lot of potential in the learners and believe that they can obtain the results they need to help themselves out of poverty through education. Learners in townships are faced with challenging problems such as having to drop out of school and having to resort to other choices which they believe they can improve their lives.One of the IkamvaYouth values is openness and integrity and it is well practiced in our branch as most of our learners are open about the challenges they face and are in an environment where they can access different information on how to find solutions.
Hearing some of our tutor’s views:
Quinta NAWEJI Yombi from Taletso FET College has been part of the branch since September 2015 and this is what he had to say about our learners and the tutoring space as a whole. “Our ikamvanites show respect to the tutors, and each other even though they hail from different schools. They all want to see themselves with a bright future, they show openness and are able to show commitment to improve their marks by working together as one. Their openness is so much that that they allow us do our work as tutors and this impact will certainly lead them to a bright future, as they will also be able to give back to the community the kind of knowledge they have achieved. We believe that as tutors and ikamvanites, to serve tomorrow’s new generation is through-education. Nelson Mandela said “Education is a very powerful weapon that we can use to change the world”.
Selorm Awudestey is a tutor in Geography, English, History and help with other subjects. She started volunteering at IkamvaYouth last year.My experience so far with the learners has been interesting. As these learners are all unique and each have different or similar approaches towards their studies. There are some learners who are shy to ask for assistance while others are talkative and don’t mind asking a lot of questions of which benefits the entire group. I try my best to implement a need for studying and encourage them to read as much as possible, not just their school books but various books to help them think better, analyze different subjects from all perspectives and generally to learn how to think out of the box.
A view from our Ikamvanites:
Joese’ Mentoor a learner from Danville Secondary School outlined that his experience is so unbelievable because he has never achieved any high marks in his school work until he joined IkamvaYouth. “I am so grateful to IkamvaYouth for giving me the opportunity to make my parents and this organisation-proud.”
Omphemetse Serapelo Learner from Leteane Secondary School mentioned that she loves IkamvaYouth as it helped her to improve her marks, “to learn communication skills between different peers around me and to be a better person as a whole. Sis B and Ausi Bonolo are the best, they give us the kind of support we need to be comfortable and have confidence in ourselves. We are grateful to have tutors who are able to explain the work in full to us and have the patience to explain it more than 5 times without being annoyed about it.” She said
Our organisation is truly fortunate to work with these amazing Ikamvanites
For more information about IkamvaYouth Mahikeng please contact: info@ikamvayouth.org
The IkamvaYouth Joza Branch celebrated the achievements of its learners at the annual open day and prize giving event last Saturday. The awards ranged from those who have demonstrated academic excellence to those who were rewarded for their availability and willingness to help around the branch.
The guest speaker at this year’s event was Ms Monica Canca, the first Joza branch coordinator. Her motivational speech will live long in the memories of all the staff, volunteers, learners and parents present as she repeated that joining IkamvaYouth was “the best decision you will ever make in your life”.
Ms Nocawa Mzembe, a parent of one of the top performing matrics, offered some advice to parents and children alike. “Noba kuyanetha, vuka uye eIkamvaYoutk”, she said encouraging learners to attend the programme whether it is raining or not. She went on to advise parents to give their matric children a break from household chores this year, allowing them more time with their studies. “Whatever happens at the end of the year, your child will know that you had given them all the support that you could,” she said.
The Overall Academic Award this year was awarded to Vuyolwethu Zumani, who achieved brilliant results, especially in Maths and Physical Science. The principal of Ntsika Secondary School, Mrs Madeleine Schoeman accepted Sinazo Madakana’s award for Matric of the year in her absence. Other mentionable awards were Athenkosi Adam for Platinum attendance (90 – 100%) and Appreciation awards to Sibulele Moyakhe and Banele Xoki for always being there to assist in the branch.
Thabang Stoffel, who returned to the branch to tutor, gave an encouraging speech to his peers. He said that it is important to remember who you are and that if you fall, it does not mean the end. You must pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. He is living proof that with perseverance comes success. This year he is registered with Rhodes University to study towards a Bachelor of Science Degree.
This event was a fantastic opportunity to formally celebrate the abundance of talent that exists within IkamvaYouth Joza in a diverse range of areas. The attendees enjoyed music and poetry from Ikamvanites Nobathembu Nxawe, Awonke Manze and Sibulele Moyakhe.
The day reflected on past achievements and also looked to the future as we are proud of the successes of the class of 2015 and look forward to helping them become confident, responsible and successful members of society.
Ikamva Lisezandleni Zethu: The future is in our hands
During the third term of 2015, IkamvaYouth carried out a feedback project, aimed at engaging our alumni community, and giving them the opportunity to participate in the development of the alumni programme going forward. The project included running an online survey which was completed by both 2015 matric learners and alumni (a total of 165), as well as two workshops: the first was in Gauteng on the 17th October 2015 (with 19 matric and alumni participants from Ivory Park and Ebony Park branches), and the other in Cape Town on the 27th November 2015 (with 10 matric and alumni participants from Makhaza and Nyanga branches). Here’s a sneak peak at the results:
The Good News…
- Alumni find our programmes helpful in preparing them for post-matric life
- They are proud advocates of the organisation
- They want to participate in alumni programmes
- They want to stay connected to IY and contribute in-kind as well as financially
But…
- Alumni can’t give back if they’re struggling (financially and otherwise)
- Not all the ideas offered are feasible: So we need to manage expectations
- IY needs to start supporting alumni not in tertiary (e.g. FET, unemployed, upgrading matric)
So, our next steps are to:
- Ensure communication and feedback of key issues between the alumni and IY
- Share opportunities (jobs/funding/study/etc.) via emails and social media
- Host Meet-Ups every term (incorporating needed skills workshops such as CV & Interview skills)
- Source/develop and share guides/booklets with important info (e.g. adjusting to university), and work with branch staff to ensure that these are shared (through workshops & talks) with matric learners
- Pilot a campus support structure in WC
- Promote the individual giving campaign among our alumni who are employed
For a more detailed look at the findings of this project, please
click here to access the full report.
Thank you so much to all the alumni who participated so enthusiastically in the survey and workhops!
After an eventful and successful 2015 it was time to honour and appreciate Chesterville tutors who played a first-hand role in assisting the kids in passing and improving their marks. Tutors openly volunteer their time and knowledge to the children without any monetary compensation expectations. The least we could do as a branch was to show love and appreciation.
It was a unanimous decision that we all go out to Galleria Mall for lunch and games, just to relax and have fun, and for the tutors to get an opportunity to unwind while building stronger relationships with each other, and with staff, as a team. After the delicious and filling meal, the tutors were handed hampers containing an IkamvaYouth branded hoodie, a thank you letter and a small goodie inside. The tutors had been divided into teams earlier, and were asked to create a name for themselves and form a war cry for their team. After the lunch and mini prize giving, we then played a remarkable game of tenpin bowling the members of each team started teaching themselves and each other how to bowl, it truly was a fun experience as teams were cheering each other and smiles and laughter was shared. By the end of the session some were looking like semi-pros, while the rest of us were merely just enjoying the thrill of knocking down as many pins as our hands could possibly manage, however minimum they were.
We then capped off the day by playing some arcade games which everyone seemed to love, well the screams of excitements and game reflexes were enough for us to draw that conclusion. Some people obviously flourished more than others in the gaming department, but the end result was the same which was people having massive amounts of memorable fun together as the IY family. Not only was it a successful tutor appreciation but it also became a team building adventure which brought forth excitement and smiles.
Gciniwe Zulu one of the tutors shared her excitement “the day was good and indeed it was an awesome trip, we enjoyed ourselves by playing games, being together as the IY family. It was a way to know each other as tutors.
The world is hugged by the faithful arms of volunteers. These volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, but they have the heart. Ikamva Youth values its tutors. What better way of showing our gratitude than taking them to Zoo Lake for team building exercises? Ikamva Youth has made it its culture to appreciate its volunteers throughout the year. This year’s appreciation event was combined between the two GP branches, Ebony and Ivory Park. The idea was to create unity and friendship between volunteers from different backgrounds and walks of life
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“Team building activities are essential for every organization. Some think this is about playing silly games but that is not the case. The team building activities were designed to create unity, develop good relationships between all members, giving them experience of working with different team members and to introduce processes so that they work effectively together. I strongly think we achieved that today”- said the activities instructor Welsh Dube. Participants were required to form teams, elect a leader, create a war cry and complete the challenges set for them. The day was full of laughter, shouting, singing and dancing as tutors were enjoying team building exercises. Both the Ebony Park and Ivory Park staff members handed out certificates to appreciate efforts made and services provided by volunteers to IkamvaYouth.
The categories for certificates were: Outstanding commitment, certificate of appreciation, volunteer of the year and appreciation letters written by IY Director Joy Olivier. Tutors were very happy to receive their certificates. They were shouting, rejoicing as they went to collect their Awards. Ikamva Youth really values their hard work.
By Philiswa Ntoyini
Once again it has been that time of the year when prizes were given to students who were committed to their studies through IkamvaYouth. On the 28th of November 2015, Masiphumelele Branch had fun and celebrated their year-end at the prize giving. The event started at 09:45 on Saturday morning and it was well attended by learners, parents, tutors, Mr Swarts the guest speaker and the IkamvaYouth staff.
Learners get motivated by people who have been through the same phase as they are in, the guest speaker even mentioned that they should invest on their time, they should have dreams with visions and put some actions into it. Not only learners but everyone who attended could use these words in order to achieve successful goals.
Certificates were given to learners who obtained between 75% and 100% of attendance as an evidence as to how committed they were and these learners survived kick outs. Some learners received certificates of excellence for different achievements such as learner of the year, Book Club participation, and English improvement with the FUNdamentals programme.
Tutors were appreciated for their effortless time spent at IkamvaYouth throughout the year helping other learners to improve on their studies.
Most of the tutors were learners at Ikamva, after finishing their matric they came back as tutors. Tutors received IkamvaYouth nice designed hoodies.
It was good to see learners achieving, an achievement does not have to be something big in order to be regarded as an achievement.
Lloyd Lungu