Activities at the Makhaza winter school are in full swing, with one of the Wednesday and Thursday morning sessions being financial literacy training presented by Capitec Bank to all the pupils. During these sessions, learners had the opportunity to share their career ambitions, and more specifically where they saw themselves in the next 10 years and what they hoped to save up for. Groups included pupils who hope to become financial risk managers, business owners, world travellers and computer scientists, to name but a few. When it came to the items they’ll be saving for, undoubtedly top of the list was a home for mom and flashy cars for themselves.
The Capitec Bank team then ran through the elements required to achieve those objectives, highlighting a key to saving is one’s ability to differentiate between what qualifies as a need and a want. The pupils shared some of their thoughts and understandings on the matter and it was determined that everyone’s needs and wants are different. For example, many of the pupils shared their views on the importance of education but whether education qualifies as a need or a want was a contested issue.
Other topics covered were drawing up a budget, making the commitment to stick to that budget and save, and opening a Global One savings account with Capitec Bank to manage that process. The session closed off with a Q & A where a few goodies were handed out.
Thanks Megan and your team!!
Every once in a while someone comes along into your life that forces you to examine your own, examine the way you relate to other people, the way you pay it forward, the way you appreciate every little thing that comes your way. Unathi is one of those people. She started as a volunteer in 2009 at the Makhaza branch and very quickly integrated herself into every little inch of everything we do, a walking embodiment of all the values we as Ikamvanites hold in our hearts and try live by every day.
So quickly did she become part of the branch and as the head of two programs, we never thought of the possibility of ever losing her to the corportate world!
Unathi and Torie
“My name is Unathi Smile, joined Ikamva Youth in 2009 as a volunteer. The main subjects I tutored were Maths, Accounting, Business Economics and Economics. I started tutoring the younger grades especially the grade 10s. I matriculated in 2006 from Harry Gwala Secondary; in 2010 I graduated in ND: Management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. In 2012 I graduated in Btech: Quality from the same institution. In between studying, I maintained volunteering at Ikamva and I tutored the older grades. In 2011 I tutored intensely which resulted in me becoming a coach in a computer program called Khan Academy. This did not end there I became the director of the Khan Academy program.
Capitec Bank hosted Competency Tests during the March school holidays to help IkamvaYouth develop a benchmark for which we can compare results, which I also took part in. In a matter of 3 weeks I received a phone call from the bank for an interview. Right after the interview I waited for full two weeks and heard the news I have wanted to hear, I had passed the interview!
The experience I have gained from working with the kids and the knowledge I have gained from studying for 5 years made me the leader I am today.”
So today is Unathi’s first day at her new job! And while we are very sad at Makhaza not to have her around everyday, this is the whole reason why we do what we do – people paying it forward in their lives, pulling themselves and each other out of povery. Unathi we know you will be a HUGE success at Capitec, and they will love you as much as we do!
Chilling with the boys
Five International interns are at IkamvaYouth centres (Ebony Park and Ivory Park) in Gauteng for the next six weeks. Four of the interns are from India and one is from The Czech Republic and they have already begun to actively interact with the Ikamvanites in Gauteng. The Ikamvanites are excited to learn about the interns’ different cultures and it became evident after the Saturday tutoring session that the learners all wanted to be around our new visitors.
The interns are currently involved in helping to organise Winter School, cataloguing books in the library, tutoring and mentoring the learners.
IY partnered with an organisation called AIESEC which made the arrival and participation of these interns possible. AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-run led organisation. It is focused on providing a platform for youth leadership development. AIESEC offers young people the opportunity to participate in international internships, experience and participate in a global learning programme.
Our new interns are moving around with the motto, “Each one – teach one,” and they believe that this is a good platform for them to empower youths in South Africa.
“These trips made realise how broad the study of nature is”
Afika Mabali, Grade 9
Makhaza has the incredible fortune of having some amazing workshop partners who take our learners all over the province. One such person is Dr. Carl Palmer who throughout his long history in association with Makhaza opened up spaces on various trips around the province, along with students from the ACCESS (Applied Centre for Climatic &Earth Systems Science) programmes.
Two trips this term saw 10 students make their way to the Fossil Park near Langebaan, a place of well-preserved remains of fossil fauna that date to circa 5.2 million years ago and include bones of over 200 different animal species. This trip was a time for our leaner representatives to bond, Luxhase, our Grade 8 rep said “I really enjoyed myself. It was so much fun, I didn’t know much about the history of Fossil Park but trust me now I can tell a lot about it. I am still surprised about the existence of bones on earth. I wouldn’t mind to going there again!”, while Siphokazi, one of Grade 9 reps said “I was so excited about the trip, the most fascinating part for me was the existence of bones for so many years. I cannot believe it, 5 million years ago but we can still see them and identify what they are! Another thing I enjoyed was the beach, even though the winter has started in Cape Town, I never get a chance to go to the beach. Thank You Carl!!”
The second trip was for 10 of the best attending and most improved grade 8 & 9s who met bright and early at the cable car for a long walk up Table Mountain. Phiwe Maliti one of the grade 8 learner said, “The Table mountain trip was fun, I climbed the mountain for the first time in my entire life. Even though it was hard to climb I eventually reached the top! “
Noluntu Marenene said, “I enjoyed the climbing of the mountain. I learnt that when you climb the mountain, the body temperature increases. Also I didn’t know that there are animals that live in Table Mountain such as snakes. The most exciting part was finally reaching the top, it was a great accomplishment. I would love to go there again. Thanks so much!!”
Big Thanks to Dr Carl Palmer and the ACCESS program for their continued support for our Makhaza branch
About 40 Grade 10 learners from both the Ebony Park and Ivory Park branches in Gauteng attended the Hip2b2 Innovation Challenge Introduction Event. The focus of the event was to spark the interest of learners in Maths and Science and they were told that their innovation could win them the ” SA Young Innovator of the year award.”
Maths, Science and Technology related topics where presented to the learners in a fun, interesting and relevant way. It was a fun-filled afternoon event with activites, team challenges and videos introducing learners to the world of innovation, science and engineering. Learners were given guidance on how maths and science lay foundations or building blocks for careers in the fields of innovation, technology, healthcare, safety and transport.
HIP2B² has partnered with 3M, a diversified technology company serving customers and communities with innovative products and services and industry leaders in innovative solutions for everyday life, and our learners got to see how exciting maths and science can be.
Our learners are geared up and ready to show the world how they can contribute to their communities positively.
On Saturday the 12th of May, 25 Grade 12 learners were at the IkamvaYouth Ebony Park centre by 6:30am ready to attend the much awaited University Open Days. The Universities that had Open Days included Wits University, University of Johannesburg and Tshwane University of Technology. The learners arrived at the different Universities by 7:30 am and began to tour the University grounds and also began to interact with other learners from the universities as well as other High Schools. They toured around the different faculties and with the assistance of our very commited volunteers, the learners began to make some serious decisions about what they wanted to study in tertiary and see what they already qualified for with their current marks.
The Ikamvanites enjoyed the whole experience and said that it gave them a chance to interact with people from all over the country and also get a perspective of what university life is like from the university students. Dikamatso, an Ikamvanite from Tsosolotso High School said that it was a great motivator to see what they saw and experience all they experienced. The end result of the day was that the Ikamvanites decided to continue to take their future into their own hands by collecting the application forms and bursary applications. The Matriculants all understand that by failing to prepare they are already preparing themselves to fail, therefore preparation is very essential.
We look forward to succcessful Grade 12’s this year and the IY team would like to continue to thank the loyal volunteers who have committed themselves to helping all our learners.
Lloyd Lungu