An academic support programme for youths attending township schools, IkamvaYouth Gauteng, which operates in Ivory Park and offers Saturday supplementary tutoring, Tuesday and Thursday homework sessions, career guidance and mentoring, HIV-AIDS awareness, computer literacy training and media, image and creative expressions, is being encouraged and supported by Schneider Electric South Africa.
Recently, a group of Schneider Electric South Africa staff visited IkamvaYouth and made interactive presentations on the many career opportunities that motivated school-leavers can explore with their matric qualification. The theme of the afternoon was: “When you master crawling, you will walk and when you are able to walk, keep walking against all the odds.” Scientific calculators, stationery packs and teaching DVDs were also presented.
Formed in 2008, IkamvaYouth Ivory Park is run by Gauteng regional manager, Andrew Barrett, co-ordinator Joe Manciya and a group of volunteers, and focuses on children in grades 9-12. Emphasis is placed on media, image, creative expression and awareness of HIV-AIDS. Based on this, IkamvaYouth provides an open space and tools for creativity and excitement while learning at the same time.
“The major challenge for Ikamva is the pervasive dysfunctionality of our township schooling system and the detrimental effect this has on the future prospects of learners coming through the system,” says Barrett. “IkamvaYouth has the ability to uplift this country’s township education standards and we do it by focusing on one learner at a time. We are in the business of creating opportunity through education and the support of corporate organisations like Schneider Electric is a great help.”
He adds that, in general, learners from township schools have a narrow frame of reference and very little idea of what the corporate work environment is like. “So our primary focus is getting township school learners to a point where they can access decent post-school opportunities such as entry to tertiary institutions, direct employment, or formal scholarships.
“When a company like Schneider Electric visits our learners and personnel to talk about their lives and job experiences, the impact is significant and helps to expand the knowledge-base and fire the enthusiasm of our youth. Every time they learn something new their world expands.”
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