EMPOWERING DISADVANTAGED YOUTH THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Veronika Lipkova ‘14 Nisha Bhat ‘14
Background Internship organization: IkamvaYouth, a township-based non-profit organization which aims to connect students in the townships to post-graduation employment or higher education opportunities. Based in Khayelitsha, the largest and fastest growing township in Cape Town
Education in the townships Poor matric results and low awareness of post- graduation opportunities lead to high percentages of unemployed youth—over 60% in Khayelitsha Many township youth are infected and/or affected by HIV/ AIDS
How does IkamvaYouth help? Addresses obstacles to education through: Supplementary tutoring Career guidance Mentoring Computer literacy, computer access Creative workshops AIDS/ HIV awareness workshops and testing More than 70% of Ikamvanites so far have gained access to higher education upon graduation (compared to the 5% township average)
Winter School IkamvaYouth’s Winter School: career exploration workshops, tutoring, and HIV/ AIDS education and testing Organization/ Facilitation Traveling to local universities to talk to interested departments for career workshops Contacting Cape Town organizations to run programs Teaching English classes
Research Does Ikamva help learners achieve financial stability? Research eventually will be used to improve funding Collection of data Where are former Ikamvanites now? Studying engineering at the University of Cape Town Employed by the South African Department of Education Employed as social workers in their community
Conclusions What obstacles do educational NGOs in developing nations face? Lack of resources Social problems Lack of cooperation from schools, parents, etc. What role does education play in development? What can we do to help?
Acknowledgements This internship was designed as a sort of follow-up to a Princeton freshman seminar, “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” taught by Professor George Philander PEI Development Grand Challenges IkamvaYouth Dr. Carl Palmer, UCT