Developing South Africa’s youth in the hands of the people

Afrika Tikkun is an established global non-profit organization with a focus on Africa and the core belief that every young person has the potential to change the world. Here we take a look at the lives of three young people that Afrika Tikkun is helping shape into tomorrow’s productive citizens through its ‘Cradle to Career’ model, which supports over 12,000 individual beneficiaries from early childhood development through to job placement.

Afrika Tikkun’s Cradle to Career model has three core programmes:

The Early Childhood Development centres are state-of-the-art facilities with a curriculum that produces school ready children. The Early Childhood Development programme is a four-year plan that starts age two and continues to Grade R. Throughout the programme children are cared for and supported through activities that assist in developing cognitive, physical and emotional skills, as well as improves the health and wellbeing of children through adequate nutrition, and ensures age-appropriate computer skills development.

• Kgopi Setsiba (5) started attending the ECD programme at the age of three and soon after starting was interacting with her classmates and participating in activities, but in 2016 that changed. Kgopi lost her mother and she started to isolate herself in class, she lost enthusiasm for the programme and refused to take part in activities. With the help of her teacher, a social worker and her family, Kgopi received the psychosocial support she needed and has since returned to her old self. She has shown tremendous development emotionally and her confidence has grown.

Her teacher credits much of her confidence to her love for music and dance, “Kgopi is probably the best dancer in our ECD” she proudly said.

The Child and Youth Development programme works holistically towards changing the environment in which young people aged seven to eighteen live in order to facilitate their emotional, intellectual, physical, mental and social development. The programme provides sports, arts and culture, learning and homework support, life skills and interventions tailored for specific age groups with the outcomes of a higher matric pass rate, positive life choices, taking responsibility for their own lives and further learning opportunities.

• Lindiwe Mabuya (19) says she first visited Afrika Tikkun with a friend who was returning a library book after school and after many years of attending as often as she could, she is now studying towards a degree through UNISA and volunteers for the organisation. When starting out at Afrika Tikkun she was an anti-social person and feared letting anyone in her space but after numerous experiences writing and delivering speeches she has learnt to concentrate, break through her fear of speaking in public and appreciate being able to express her opinion – even expressing herself in different ways depending on personalities and environments. Lindiwe says; “Youth are filled with so much passion and enthusiasm. and Afrika Tikkun enhances that… through Afrika Tikkun I have been challenged to never let the fear of failure dominate me… I focus on inspiration and positivity every day, and believe that I will reach my goals… There is a dream I have – all the world in union… I want to become a psychologist to understand what triggers the human mind and why other people do what they do… I want to help others find solutions to their problems.”

The Youth Skills Development and Placement programme provides the likes of career guidance, job readiness training, entrepreneurial training, job placement and bursaries for further learning; targeted at young adults between nineteen and thirty-five years of age. The key outcome – with the aim of breaking the cycle of poverty – is that young people should be able to navigate the job market and access opportunities for sustainable employment or self-employment.

• Obed Mokgoko (23) lives in Alexandra. Before registering at Afrika Tikkun he was studying towards a Business Management Diploma but due to lack of finance was forced to stop. He struggled to find employment. He was referred to Afrika Tikkun by a friend and registered for the Youth Skills Development Programme. After graduating from the programme, Obed was placed at a branch of Woolworths and is currently working as a sales assistant, making his way up the corporate ladder. Obed says; “The little knowledge that I had combined with my Afrika Tikkun experience, boosted me to go forward. I was a bit shy when I started the training. Afrika Tikkun helped me to be stable, and boosted my morals and confidence. I was exposed to things that I wasn’t aware of and I have acquired all of these skills free of charge.”

In addition, Afrika Tikkun offers outreach and support services to children of all ages with programmes such as Nutrition and Food Security, Health Care, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Child Abuse, Family Support and an Empowerment Programme for Children and Families Living with Disabilities.

Onyi Nwaneri, Director of Partnerships of Afrika Tikkun says; “The stories that come out of this organisation are inspirational to say the least and our focus on the holistic growth of young people across every phase of their development means that we see really great results from our programmes. These stories are so rewarding that we want all South Africans to share in the positive efforts being made and the gratifying outcomes, and our recently launched digital fundraising campaign, #AdventureFundraisers #MyAfrikaTikkun, allows just that. It is aimed at the greater public looking for a charity beneficiary to support. It is designed with convenience in mind, catering to the increasingly busy lifestyles of South Africans and the global move into the online space. But more importantly, we are leveraging the fundraising efforts of active citizens by putting the power in the hands of the people and the benefits in the hands of the next generation.”

For more information on Afrika Tikkun and its initiatives call 011 325 5914, email [email protected] www.afrikatikkun.org.