BackgroundInternship 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?