Where do I start, I really do not know… words cannot express enough how happy I am to have been part of the Quest conference, especially being part of the student panel. It was such an amazing experience. The panel consisted of 4 students, and administrators. I also learnt a lot from each and everyone who was part of the panel; the speakers brought so much to think of when I go back home. They were all amazing, I’ve realised that people are doing so many great things all around the world, it’s so encouraging. It motivates me to keep on doing what I’m doing at Ikamva. I met very dedicated individuals, people who are passionate about education, and it was so amazing to see how other countries invest so much in education, something that our country can learn from. In the panel on the pre-quest conference, which was televised on Roger’s TV (Canadian TV channel), I had to talk about everything that our organization is doing, our vision and all the programmes that we have.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/user/ikamvayouth#p/u/4/OC9SdxcjEWI]
Others also talked about the wonderful things they all doing in their schools. The theme of the conference was “Engaging learning in the 21st century” and was organised by the York region district. About 900 people came and so many speakers were respected people all around Toronto and other countries who came to be part of the conference. The 3 day conference went so well, we also got to meet with other South Africans, from the Gauteng legislature, who came to Canada on a study tour. It’s been very amazing being part of the 3 day conference.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/user/ikamvayouth#p/u/3/4oTDQ3j5MbE]
It was the first time I have presented in front of so many people but according to the feedback we got, everything went well. The learning continues if you are a member of Ikamva, one just never stops learning. I remember when I joined in 2004 as a grade 11 learner, I was just a kid who didn’t know what I wanted to do when I passed my matric. I didn’t even think I would go to varsity as I thought only kids that come from rich families can afford university fees. When I joined IY, the tutors made me realise that life has so much to offer and that anyone can go to varsity. I’ve been exposed to a lot of things ever since I joined the organisation: In 2006 I went to Singapore (see our 2006 Annual Report for the story of that trip!) and now Canada. It’s been amazing, being in Canada made me to want to go back home and continue doing what I’m doing. The organisation has been doing so much and so well with such little resources and I know that we will continue making a difference in our learners lives with what we have.
[youtube]PVVJDqnTNnE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL[/youtube]
The experience I got from being part of the conference inspired me a lot. It was fantastic. Thank you IY national committee for choosing me to be part of this amazing conference, I can’t wait to come back home and share about everything I have learnt here.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2dEL-VpkAk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL]
[video:http://www.youtube.com/user/ikamvayouth#p/a/u/2/Grb66S6rJu4]
Lloyd Lungu