Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu Facilitators with Senior Officials at the Department of Education, in Queenstown.
“Do you have a plan for after matric?” is a question most high school students do not think about until they are in their final year or when it is too late and they are already finished with high school. But hundreds of Grade 11 and 12 students in many township and rural schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa had to confront this question when the Dad Fund’s “Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu” (We Are Building Our Youth) workshops reached their schools.
Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu as I previously reported for YouthHubAfrica, is a flagship programme of the Dad Fund that recently ran 25 workshops in 25 rural and township schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa as part of its “3 Days of Impact” from 11-13 March. This was originally going to be “5 Days of Impact” but instead of spending the whole week with each facilitator doing one workshop a day, each facilitator had to do two workshops (sometimes more than two depending on the size of the school) and hence the days were reduced to three.
The workshops which were run and facilitated by other young people who also come from rural and township schools, served as the information bridge that most rural and township schools and learners are excluded from. The workshops equip learners with information about options students can pursue post high school.
Students were alerted about the bleak unemployment statistics for young people between the ages of 18-24 in South Africa. They were reminded that of the unemployed, it is estimated that about 86% of these unemployed people are people who lack formal and further education training, and hence having only Grade 12/matric only was not the best option in South Africa.
The facilitators spoke about the importance of academic excellence and gave tips on how students can attain academic excellence. They were also given tips on how to deal with failure and how to get back up. Most importantly, students were also given information about how to apply to institutions of higher learning (focusing on Universities, Universities of Technology and Science, Further Education and Training Colleges and Private Colleges).
Candice Andisiwe Sehoma, one of the Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu programme facilitators addressing students as part of the Sakha programme.
Students were informed about admission requirements in different higher education programmes and the marks students need to gain acceptance into different programmes. A major challenge that most learners seemed to identify as an obstacle to them attaining their dreams seemed to be finances for further education, so students were also informed about different options to finance from loans to bursaries, scholarships and fellowships.
The Dad Fund also compiled a manual that each student received which contained tips on how to study and prepare for exams and tests, note-taking skills, and a number of other critical skills like time management, staying motivated and concentration skills. The manual also contain information about tertiary institutions in South Africa and how they can be contacted for application forms. This is also followed with opportunities students can apply for such as bursaries, fellowships and scholarships.
SikelelaZumana, of the Amanzi Education Network who joined the workshops as a Facilitator told the learners that “asikwaziukukhulasihluphekasiphindesiphileentluphekweninathi” (we cannot grow up poor and then only to still live in destitute poverty). He enforced the importance of education, and encouraged the learners to use education as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.
A mother who witnessed one of the workshops said “asifundangathina, sizofasingafundangakod wasifunaabant wanabethubafunde” (we are not educated; we are going to die uneducated but we want our children to be educated). Simamkele Dlakavu, who is the founder of Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu said “this touched me to the core”. This is because Simamkele, like most of the learners at township and rural schools in South Africa, comes from parents who have not be able to have the same educational opportunities that she has had, but through education Simamkele has been able to transform herself and reach higher educationally.
Two Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu facilitators, Nobathembu Zantsi (middle top) and Mmabatho Mokiti (middle-bottom).
At the end of each workshop, each learner was required to write and make a pledge/promise to themselves. The idea behind the pledges according to Simamkele is that “everyone has a dream” but very few school learners articulate these out loud. So by creating a pledge, they have a contract that they make with themselves and can everyday start thinking about the choices that they make, and whether those align with their goals of gaining visibility and achieving their dreams. These pledges range from promises the students made to themselves to work harder, to get into university and to be successful amongst hundreds of many others.
The Dad Fund’s Managing Director, Ezlyn Barends noted that “The week in Queenstown was great. We reached more than our targeted amount of 3,000 students this week”. Simamkele thanked all the facilitators who contributed and reminded them all that it really does take “a team to make a dream work”. Nobathembu Zantsi said she was happy that she got to facilitate the workshops and that this was a deeply emotional experience and something close to her heart especially when she returned to give a workshop at one of her old school, Khanya in Whittlesea.
Mmabatho Mokiti, another facilitator stated that “This project ignited the fire within me, it made me realise why I chose the life of social entrepreneurship rather than the corporate world. Knowing that those three days of impact changed just close to 3000 learners lives not only excites me for future thinking in that South Africa will have great leaders leading this country. So many times people tend to forget about rural learners and what they could contribute to the future of this country, but what I saw in those learners’ eyes was a hunger to excel and succeed and they were just waiting for us to feed that hunger and I’m happy to say that we did.”
Simamkele Dlakavu with learners at Maria Louw, a township school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Simamkele completed her matric at Maria Louw High School.
She concluded by thanking “the founder of Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu; Simamkele Dlakavu for sharing her dream with us, our sponsors Eduloan and British Council Global Changemakers , our dedicated and motivational facilitators who took time out of their studies to help run the workshops. I truly say that with their help we were able to truly live the Dad Fund motto; “Shaping Future Leaders”.”
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*Gcobani Qambela is the South African correspondent for YouthHubAfrica. Keep a look out on YouthHubAfrica for our in-depth exclusive interview with Simamkele Dlakavu (the founder of Sakha Ulutsha Lwethu) in the coming weeks.
