On the 3rd of December 2011 the Nyanga Branch celebrated Prize Giving and Year End with our learners, tutors, parents, partners and colleagues from KZN, Makhaza and the Gauteng Branch.
Nombuyiselo, Branch Coordinator, openend the event with a speech about her experiences with IkamvaYouth, in particular the Nyanga Branch, and mentioned different people who have assisted the Nyanga Branch to be where it is today, regardless of the challenges it has faced.
After that, our Director Joy spoke about IkamvaYouth, how it was founded and her experience with the Nyanga Branch, where she also motivated the learners of the Nyanga Branch and encouraged the grade 12s to become volunteer tutors next year.
The speeches where followed by giving Awards and Prizes to different kids: Most improved learners, learners with the highest attendance, Learner of the Year and Tutor of the Year. This was accompanied by prizes from Capitec and support from the Nyanga Library.
Yonelisa and Modjadji (from Gauteng-Branch) entertained us with self-written poems and we finished this nice event with some music and refreshments!
Thanks a lot to everyone who helped to make the day a success! And: Learners and Tutors, you guys worked so hard; we are proud of you!!!
Makhaza Prize giving
Prize giving event is conducted at the end of the academic year as a celebration of the successes of learners, volunteers and staff. It’s great to celebrate the end of the stressful exam period and the imminent summer holidays, so we give it all we’ve got. Makhaza branch had prize giving on the 26/ 11/2011. Due to the larger number of dedicated learners and tutors Makhaza branch issued out 112 certificates. 3 of most dedicated, good marks, leadership role, and best attendance learners were given a computer each. Other prizes that Makhaza learners got were Freshly-ground tickets. 15 of Makhaza branch learners will get the opportunity to watch freshly-ground performing live. The lovely Makhaza choir and hip-hopsters ensured we had good music. Tembela, one of the grade 12s who got 4 certificates plus a computer, couldn’t hide the joy and happiness during the ceremony. Thanks to Patrick for a great motivational speech which inspired most of the learners and tutors, also thanks to Joy for a great speech and background about the organisation.
One of the key things when you’re working with dedicated people is to show them the appreciation of their amazing work. It is indeed a pleasure to recognize and thank all of our tutors for the great year and amazing work they done for Makhaza learners this year. Makhaza branch tutors had their funny party at cool runnings in Tygervalley. Cool runnings is the most popular adventure sport. Ride the 1, 25 kilometre of twisting steel half-pipe and reach up to 40 km per hour. In this driving you control the speed with a hand brake, so you can go as fast or slow as you like. For most of the tutors, it was their first time for this kind of the trip. Then after the ridings tutors had lunch and chatted in the park near Tygervalley.
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I am from Switzerland, studying Social Work back home and for my studies I have to complete two internships. The first I’ve done in Switzerland and the second one I decided to go abroad. I wanted to live somewhere for a couple of months, experience another culture, experience how Social Work works in other countries. Through people I met during previous travels, I heard about IkamvaYouth. Its now been 3 months that I have been interning here and I am enjoying my stay!
The experience is different from what I expected, but not in a bad way at all. Just different. First of all, it’s great to work in this environment. There is a big gap between my culture and the culture here in the Townships. But for me it works well. I have to accept the world turns in a different way here.
In the beginning when I arrived I was busy doing some admin stuff. There was a lot to catch up on and I played the role of “assistant Administrator” since this was the need for the Branch. I made sure I support fully and assist where needed.
Initially my idea was to do some life skills with the kids. So to start this I prepared a workshop for exam preparation. Because the (final) exams were just in front of the door. So on a Saturday we had 3 hours time to work with the kids for this purpose. We (the tutors and me) tried to implement time tables so they can plan their days, especially their study time. As we also taught them skills and what is important for studying. In the end we did some exercises to find out which type of learner they are. Doing this workshop was a really interesting experience for me planning a “workshop” from the idea to the accomplishment. I got feedbacks from some learners and tutors and I think, it was a successful day.
When I came here I didn’t know that I will tutor as well. So I’m struggling a little bit haven’t practiced many of the subjects for a while. But, if there is something to help in more familiar subjects, I absolutely enjoy it. So it’s half time for me now and I’m glad about the decision to come here and enjoy IkamvaYouth and looking forward to the next three months!
People speak of our IkamvaYouth in Makhaza as being a beacon of hope and light in the community, a safe place for learners to come and learn, a place where people become agents of change in their own lives, a place where learners can be safe from the other factors in their lives. Here gang culture is dissipated, close friendships are formed; people feel like they belong.
So when the news that Mphumzi Klaas was murdered came though one Sunday morning in June it shattered all of us and everything we believed about in Ikamva was shaken to the very core. Our best friend, confidante, our rock in unsteady times was lost to us forever.
And yet, life needed to go on, winter school started the very next day, and so with 150 people balancing grieving and all the high energy that comes with winter school we decided a fitting memorial needed to made, in a place where Ikamva can show the community we may be down but not out. We would all rise out of this and remember Mphumzi though the way he lived his life, his values and love for people, making sure that he lives on through all of us. He embodied a true ikamvanite lived his life with the values of Ikamva at his core.
Today he was memorialised on our wall of our office not only for everyone at Ikamva to see but everyone in the community to know IkamvaYouth is bigger than any one person, bigger than anything we could ever imagine, that no mater what happens we go on and only get stronger.
Big up to Ricky, Veronica and Vumanizumu!! We LOVE it! Your incredible talent in portraying Mphumzi brings back memories we thought were lost to us forever..
‘We’re really going places’ Drama Club
The drama club started in Masiphumelele several months ago and with their performance of a scene from Broken Promises, an exciting new book launched by non-profit Cover2Cover, they have found local fame.
They have already performed at the Masiphumelele Library, Franschoek Literacy Festival, Matthew Goniwe High School, and Open Book Festival Cape Town. Phumza Kibi is a member of the group and was asked to be the cover girl for their latest book ‘Sugar Daddy’. The posters are up in the library, at school and obviously in Phumza’s house!
Cover2cover provided each member with their own copy and profuse thanks for their involvement.
Cover2cover is a fresh new publisher dedicated to filling a need in the South African book market: popular fiction relevant to the lives of the millions of township teenagers. It is making a huge difference toward creating a culture of reading in South Africa, particularly amongst township youth. The eagerness that Ikamvanites have approached these books has been fantastic. Reading and re-reading copies that are already well-worn.
Cover2 Cover made an initial donation of 10 books to Masiphumelele Library and have been kind enough to offer a donation to other IkamvaYouth branches.
The popularity of the books and their demand has demonstrated that there is a need for relevant literature aimed at this target audience. However, these books shouldn’t just be distributed in townships as the issues raised are relevant to all teens. In a way this exciting social entrepreneurship organization could have a profound impact on the way youth in South Africa read as well as building understanding and relationships between each other. It is wonderful to be a part of such an exciting venture.
The drama club are busy scripting the whole of Jealous in Jozi so that they can put together a full drama performance – watch this space!
By Liesel Bakker
It’s been hard to ignore these past few weeks the coverage at Chris Hani High School in Makhaza involving a brutal attack leaving Malibongwe Melani, a grade 12 student, severely injured in hospital. (See articles in the
Voice of the Cape and
Cape Argus) Students are feeling very embittered with school life, the dysfunctional state of the school and the powerlessness of feeling unsafe in the very place they’re supposed to be learning and developing. A small group of students vented these frustrations in a very destructive way, making fires, throwing desks, rocks, sticks and other objects off the 2nd floor school building, at the principal, police and whoever was unfortunate enough to be in their path, shutting the school and disrupting scheduled exams.
However our amazing Ikamvanites are not letting this huge disruption to their exam period and school life get in their way of being the agents of change in their lives and of their friends. The Grade 11’s from Chris Hani came to us asking for extra physics classes to catch up not only the 12 weeks of work they missed by not having a teacher as well as the 2 weeks of disruption to their regular school day. So today, while the sun is blazing and their friends are all playing soccer in the road, they are instead sitting in our office learning about lenses and light with practical examples taught by our newest volunteering ikamvanite, retired UCT lecturer
Prof John Greene.
These learners are really inspirational not only to other Ikamvanites but to their friends as well as the small group of destructive students. These are truly learners making the impossible happen for themselves, showing the others how no one can stand in the way of being the change in their lives.
Well done Ikamvanites, and Big Up to Prof John Greene!!
Lloyd Lungu