The Ebony Park Branch hosted one of the best winter schools ever this year! With a cohort of 190 learners, the branch was a hub of excitement right from the first day. Our tutors did not disappoint as they came through with such motivation and determination to usher in the education revolution that our communities are in real need of.
On the first day, the 30th of June, we were proud to have one of our greatest role models, Khetha Dlamini as our guest speaker. All learners with 100% attendance in term 2 were awarded with special prizes and tutoring went underway straight after the opening ceremony. Tutoring was done differently this year as we decided to map out a programme of subjects that will be done throughout the 10 days. This was in an effort to make sure the learners cover all their subjects.
The branch partnered with organisations such as LoveLife and Extreme arts and these organisation took over the afternoon sessions until 4pm. LoveLife equipped the learners with HIV/AIDS knowledge whilst Extreme Arts helped the learners explore their artistic talents. There was also a debate club led by our committed volunteers that helped learners with knowledge on what debate is and how they can be good debaters.
The Foundation for Professional Development came through to conduct HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis testing on the 2nd of July and this gave the learners an opportunity to be responsible for their own health. The week got better and better, with Tzu Chi Foundation, coming through to donate rice and stationery to our learners.
On the 11th of July,our last day of tutoring, ABI hosted all our learners at their plant in Clayville. The learners enjoyed this excursion so much that they did not want to leave the ABI premises. Many young minds were inspired and many dreams took a giant leap towards their fulfillment. The most exciting thing is that our winter school can now be seen on a youtube channel (here) created by our media team.
Thanks to everyone who supported us!
Lloyd Lungu