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Alumni Newsletter August 2018


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Dear Alumni

Welcome to another interesting and informative Alumni update on what’s hot and happening in the Alumni programme!

Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine. ― Roy T. Bennett

Meet Renky – A CDP Success Story

Renky is a bright young woman who lives in Alexandra Township. She grew up in Tzaneen, Limpopo and passed Matric with outstanding results. After Matric, she moved to Pretoria to study Office Management at TUT.

However, she failed one module and lost her bursary…but that is not the end of Renky’s story… nothing could stop this bright star. Read about Renky’s exceptional journey with Afrika Tikkun…

Alumni Women’s Month Events

Wings of Life

 

The event was attended by 60 young women from Afrika Tikkun’s Alumni programme in Diepsloot. For the young women who attended, this event was a platform to connect with other young women to share common struggles and collectively come up with solutions. Read more…

Arekopaneng

The Arekopaneng Centre hosted a similar event that was attended by young Alumni women who were previously part of Afrika Tikkun’s programmes. The event took place at the Arekopaneng Centre, on 16 August 2018.

Read more about this spectacular event…

Awesome Opportunities for Alumni

Amandla Campaigner Fellowship

Full-time paid Fellowship for Black Women, from 1 October to 21 December 2018 in Johannesburg. Click here for all the details…

For information on 2018/ 2019 SA Government scholarships to apply for, click here…

 What should we call our Alumni?

Click here to vote for your favourite Alumni programme name from those nominated at the Alumni launch event that took place in May 2018.

Something very exciting is brewing but we can’t tell you about just yet as we still need to cross the t’s and dot the i’s!

Watch this space for updates on this and other awesome competitions, workshops and camps planned for our Alumni in the next Alumni newsletter!

If you have any queries or ideas regarding the Alumni programme please email: vuyelwam@afrikatikkun.org

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Alumni Women’s Day Events

Wings of Life Event

Proud to be a Woman”: woman empowerment through Education and Entrepreneurship

The Wings of Life Women’s Day Alumni event took place at Indaba Hotel in Fourways and was attended by 60 young women from Afrika Tikkun’s Alumni programme in Diepsloot. For the young women who attended, this event was a platform to connect with other young women to share common struggles and collectively, come up with solutions.

Afrika Tikkun is committed to working towards alleviating youth unemployment as reflected by our four pillars. We do this through the application of our Cradle-to-Career 360˚ programme at our five Centres of Excellence in Orange Farm, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Braampark and Mfuleni. One of our core programmes is the Career Development programme (CDP) that aims to provide skills to our young people, preparing them for the world of work and placing them in employment where possible. The Alumni Programme is a part of this objective, as it furthers our goal to curb youth unemployment, currently a global challenge.

The Alumni Programme is a way of making sure that no one falls through the cracks by connecting and engaging with Alumni at regular events. The organisation is then able to develop a better sense of the needs and value expectations of our young people. Through its platforms of communication and engagement, alumni can network, support, share opportunities and continue to grow together toward economic empowerment.

The objective of the Alumni event was to create a platform for continuous engagement of Alumni post graduating from our skills training programmes and pending placement. This will ensure continued refreshing of skills taught and acquired, as well as empowerment. The Alumni programme will hopefully contribute towards re-enforcing the behavioural values of our young people in the long term.

Ms Marcia Lebambo, was the keynote speaker at the event, and was recently recognised as one of 100 Mandelas, by Media24. Originally, from Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, Marcia is a 30-yearold woman currently employed as a Lecturer at the University of South Africa. She previously worked as a Residence Manager, Senior Campus officer and a Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology. She also worked as Current Affairs Presenter for the Campus Radio TUTFM. Ms Lebambo also founded the first TUT Soshanguve Campus Residence Newsletter called Residence Life.

She is involved in many community development projects through her Foundation, the Marcia Lebambo Foundation. One is a campaign that deals with teaching learners in rural and township schools, reading and writing skills using a popular competition called Spelling BEE. She recently completed her PhD studies in Rural Entrepreneurship Development with Tshwane University of Technology Business School, and has published papers in journals and written book chapters. Marcia has presented papers in countries such as Tanzania and Austria. Her previous qualifications include:

 

 

  • Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship
  • National Diploma: Administrative Management
  • B-Tech Strategic Management
  • B-Tech Public Management

She is a Director of a company called Mashakoane consultancy; that helps students with postgraduate studies and research and is very passionate about developing young women especially in rural areas through Entrepreneurship and Education.

In her talk, Marcia tackled issues of personal branding, goal setting, overcoming challenges as well as entrepreneurship. Not only were the topics relevant to the young women, they were able to gain an understanding of where they need to go to get the assistance they need to take the next step in their careers.

Arekopaneng Event

Proud to be a Woman

The Arekopaneng Centre hosted their Women’s month Alumni event on 16 August 2018, targeting young women who were previously part of Afrika Tikkun’s programme. Since the launch of the Alumni programme we still have a mission to bring our young people closer to our Centres, post-graduation.

The theme of the event was “Proud to be a Woman”, with all women present wearing all black and a doek, symbolising that they are proud to be African women even when faced with adversities. All the invited speakers were present (Rhiza Babuyile, Siyanqoba, Ke Moja, as well as a representative from a local Mobile Clinic). The objective of the day was to educate women around issues of health, abuse, women empowerment and women in business.

Young women were given a chance to question and to contribute. The highlight of the day was the candlelit moment, paying respect to all women who lost their lives in abusive relationships, those who have had the courage to walk away and those who still need the strength and support to leave an abusive relationship.

The event was a success, the local mobile clinic that was present enabled young people to undergo voluntary HIV/AIDS counselling and testing, and condoms were distributed to them. Young women in the alumni programme who own their own businesses had an opportunity to showcase their work.

The event was joyful and successful, all thanks to our partners, stakeholders and Arekopaneng Centre Staff members

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2018

CDP SUCCESS STORY

Meet Renky

Renky is a bright young woman who lives in Alexandra Township. She grew up in Tzaneen, Limpopo and passed Matric with exceptional results. After Matric, she moved to Pretoria to study Office Management at TUT. However, she failed one module and lost her bursary. Renky then went on to work as an Office Clerk until she could find a way to get back into University. Fortunately, she was able to go back to University and studied Mechanical Engineering for a year until she had to drop out to support her family. She moved to Alexandra and joined the Career Development Programme to further her skills.

This amazing young woman completed the course and within a month was supported to be recruited by a fibre company called Britelink. Within a week of working at Britelink as a scheduler, Renky was promoted to the Maintenance department.

Nothing could stop this bright star as she received another promotion within a few months and now works as a co-ordinator.

Renky also has her own registered company called ‘Victory Branding Corporate’. She continues to work for Britelink and advises everybody on her social networks to recognise Afrika Tikkun and their Career Development Programme as it has helped her gain valuable skills that are needed in the workplace. She says that Afrika Tikkun has enabled her to become an asset to the working world.

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2018

We Shout to be Heard

When I came to Afrika Tikkun’s Wings of Life Centre I was just accompanying a friend and then I became fascinated by the services they offered. What captured my attention the most was the academic support that the centre provides as well as its social life. These can be overwhelming to any teenager and it becomes difficult to balance the two.

Like most other teens out there I had begun to crack under pressure, and I took my frustrations out on other pupils. This earned me the reputation of being a trouble maker and a bully. I hurt other children to make myself feel better.

I lost everyone around me, as people became scared of me. It became lonely but instead of stopping this behaviour I felt trapped inside myself and carried on. I longed for someone who would hear my silent cries from within for help.

Eventually it was Afrika Tikkun’s social worker Mr Makwena Ramoroka, who saved the day for me.

“Bonolo Satekge you are great, and can be the greatest you can ever be without making someone feel small,” said the social worker. Those words hit home, I knew I had to change!

“Bonolo Satekge you are great, and can be the greatest you can ever be without making someone feel small,” said the social worker. Those words hit home, I knew I had to change!

After a couple of sessions with the social worker, I realised I needed to open up about the challenges that I face and that I did not have to pull down others to make myself feel better or important.

Despite my bad track record, Tikkun kept faith in me becoming a better person one day and they sent me to a leadership camp. It was at this camp that I learnt that I need to channel my negative energy towards a positive endeavour and from that time, my life has never been the same again.

My drive to make a difference is inspired by a quote by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor

If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Upon our return from the leadership camp, I signed up to be a Young Urban Woman (YUW) and AV Buddies, the support groups that fight against the person I was, a bully.

AV Buddies and Young Urban Women are support groups that refuse to watch an elephant put its foot on the mouse’s tail.

Siyamemeza basizwe! (We shout to be heard)

My life has transformed drastically socially as I can relate to other people better, and academically, I am now among the crème de la crème. My newly found positivity continues to attract more positive things in my life, and I am now part of the Student Representation Committee (SRC). When I am feeling down or in need of a pick me up, I dance or play football at Tikkun, and it is through my involvement in a lot more activities that I am becoming a better person and a great leader.

My dream is to become an Air Traffic controller, I do not even want to imagine what I would have been like at the job, if I was still the bully I used to be.

Imagine me arguing with a pilot who has hundreds of lives in his hands? You as person can still change. Tikkun will be there with you every step of the way. I am the living proof of the wonders of their programmes.

NOTE: Many teenagers like Bonolo face challenges that they are unable to speak about and as a result, they act out of character, for Bonolo, her situation changed as she received guidance. That she followed that advice and took the opportunity, is why Afrika Tikkun is so proud of her.

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2018

Memeza Bazokuzwa

“This month we trained women and staff at all our Centres in Self-Defence. The month was concluded with a train-the-trainer session, and we will be training our young people in the next few months in these important skills too.”

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2018

Child Protection is a Womens Rights issue

The Protection of Women’s Rights begins with childhood

Urban Townships are in a state of emergency for women, but to solve the crisis of violence we need to look to the experience of childhood in South Africa.

In Diepsloot, a peri-urban township north of Johannesburg, endemic Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) is a pervasive issue. In 2014, 76% of community members indicated that they or someone close to them had been a victim of violence in the home or from an intimate partner, indicating that domestic violence was the most prevalent problem facing their community, followed by rape and other forms of sexual violence (37%). (Lawyers against Violence & Sonke Gender Justice, 2014). Furthermore, a separate study from 2016 strongly suggested a state of emergency for women living in Diepsloot, as more than half of the men recruited for the research said that they had either raped or beaten a woman within the past year (Sonke Gender Justice, 2017, pp. 28).

Ominously, the same study’s results exposed a strong correlation between men’s own prior exposure to violence and consequent use of violence: “men experiencing child abuse were 5 times as likely to use recent violence against women. […] the majority of men interviewed experienced at least one type of physical or sexual childhood abuse. More than one-third had been raped or molested as a child” (ibid). It is therefore crucial that the persistent nature of violence is thoroughly recognized and adequately investigated. If we want to improve safety of women, we must begin with the protection and safety of all children from harm as a matter of priority.

The 2017 Optimus Study on the prevalence of sexual abuse amongst children in South Africa found similar prevalences of lifetime experience of sexual abuse for girls and boys. These data show that boys need as much protection as girls (though their needs are different) – but this fact is something that is only slowly being recognised. Violence in families, whether of children or witnessed by children has serious developmental consequences, and may result in the intergenerational transmission of violent behaviour.

in the world[1]. In addition, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has consistently found that South Africa has among the highest rates of homicide in the world[2]. Violence against children is also widespread, especially violent forms of discipline meted out against children by family members, and educators. Other forms of child abuse, such as neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse, are also reported throughout the country[3]

 

An influential study, “Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them” by Chicago-based psychologist James Garbarino identifies sets of factors that influence whether a male child will become violent. The first is the accumulation of risk factors in the life of a boy. While one or two risk factors may not diminish the child’s intellectual ability; having three or four, or more, dramatically impacts on the child: “When we put too many burdens on a kid’s shoulders,” explains Garbarino, “he can’t stand up under the weight”. Risk factors include exposure to the violence described above, poverty, absence of a parent, suffering abuse and neglect, drug abuse in a parent, mental illness in a parent, low educational attainment in a parent, child abuse in the family, exposure to racism and large family size.

 

The second is social assets present in the child’s family, school and community life that nurtures the child to develop emotional resilience. They are diverse, and may include ‘family life provides high level of support’, ‘child goes to church or religious institutions for at least an hour a week’, and ‘young person is optimistic about his/her future’. As with the risks, the more social assets a child has, the better their outcomes. Of the children with zero to 10 of the assets surveyed in the study Garbarino references, 61% were classified as violent (and this statistic proportionally decreases with the number of social assets the child has).

What we do know is that by a very early age, Garbarino argue, the accumulation of risk factors, and the presence of social assets combine with experiences of rejection, spiritual emptiness, and individual temperament to determine the child’s likely outcome in life:  “90% of the kids who are put on the pathway that includes abuse, deprivation and oppression develop a chronic pattern of aggression, bad behaviour, acting out and violating others’ rights – behaviours that might meet the diagnostic standard for conduct disorder – by the time they are 10 years old” (Garbarino). Whether they end up as killers, he goes on to argue, depends a lot on “how toxic or benign the culture is around them”.X§

One young man from Diepsloot, speaks poignantly about the pain of exposure to violence from an early age. From childhood, Prime’s experience of manhood was from close male relatives who “constantly abused women”. Not understanding this behaviour Prime lost trust in men, became reserved, withdrawn and lost a lot of confidence. “I did not know what to do and felt helpless. I remember every time I wanted to protect these women I was called names and told I was letting women control me”, said Prime. This confused Prime and he did not know who or what to become.

When Prime was 14, he made a decision to change his life. He enrolled at Afrika Tikkun in Diepsloot, where he met many young people with similar experiences. The previously shy boy started making friends and interacting more with his peers. “When I first came to Afrika Tikkun I thought I was going to be judged, but I have since learnt to be myself which will allows other people to believe in me and in return I have learnt who I am as a person”, said Prime.

Prime is one of 85 child advocates between the ages of 13 and 18 years recently chosen as school-safety youth advocates due to their involvement in their respective schools’ self-advocacy groups which primarily target students with anti-violence and anti-bullying peer support. Within the community, the advocates identified issues such as teenage pregnancy, drugs and alcohol, poverty and inequality as being extremely visible and requiring immediate attention. Most of the advocates agreed that bullying, discrimination, and the consumption of drugs and alcohol were mainly responsible for creating threats to their safety at school. Over a third (33%) of advocates indicated that they had been bullied and experienced discrimination at school. 20% reported fearing going to school due to potential bullying.

There is a need for all members of society, including children who use CBD for anxiety, to be able to participate in holding duty bearers accountable for their protection from harm and social toxicity like the kind that Prime faces. One advocate complained, “I try to stand up for myself but every time I do that people shut me down because they think I am too young to understand my rights”.

Empowering young people with the language and tools to defend their rights and support their peers in this regard is a matter of some urgency if we wish to solve the state of emergency for women in South Africa. We also need to start looking deeper into the roots of the excessive violence against women and girls in South Africa, and remedy it, beginning with teaching parenting skills. Caregivers should be supported to develop warm and caring relationships with their children and monitor them closely. Parents, community members and even influential adults in the life of the child historically have expressed a level of tolerance of violence against children and a reluctance to routinely challenge the widespread culture of silence around child protection issues in the communities. Breaking the silence is a no-brainer.

 

What is also lacking is the coordination and integration necessary to view this challenge to childhood with a longitudinal cradle to career approach. The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa published a report in 2014 detailing the urgent need for integrated prevention programmes in child protection strategies. Child protection systems in South Africa remain unintegrated and predominantly reactive rather than preventative methods. We strongly recommend a permanent inter-sectoral government structure led by the departments of social development and health to monitor child maltreatment prevention in all sectors and across the child’s lifespan if a safer and more peaceful society is to be achieved for women.




I am proud to be a woman,
I am a mother,
I am a nurture,
I am a leader,
I am powerful,
And this goes to all women.
I have been married, I have divorced, I have been battered, I have been loved, I have been harassed, I have been admired, I have been successful, I have failed and I have laughed and I have cried. I love being a woman. I love being powerful and vulnerable. I love being soft and strong. I love that I can be an elegant lady and a rousing superhero, interchangeably, when and how I choose.

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2018

Womens Month Dorcas

With the stress of being unemployed and having to provide for five children by herself, Dorcas Racheku worried about her children’s future, especially of her youngest.

Dorcas found out about Afrika Tikkun’s services from the community, because her youngest son was struggling academically and was becoming distracted by friends. Afraid of where this could lead her child, Dorcas registered him with Afrika Tikkun. While being at Afrika Tikkun was beneficial for the child’s education, Dorcas still needed support.

Through the Family Support Services Programme, Dorcas’ family received donations to help ease the load, this included clothing and food for the family. Even though at the time Dorcas was selling sweets this was not enough to provide for basic needs and pay for education. Since receiving assistance the Racheku’s family life has changed.

“The advice that really made a difference in my life was when that social worker explained the importance of independence and encouraged me to work hard for my family,” said Dorcas.

As a result, Dorcas learnt to sew and is now part of a group of women that opened their own bag sewing business. Even though the business is still at the beginning stages there is hope for a better life for Dorcas and her children, she is able to put food on the table because she saw the importance of finding a community that is supportive and getting the help she needs so she is not alone.

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2018

Find your greatest love this Women’s Day

Love yourself this Women’s Day – and celebrate being a woman of Afrika Tikkun

To celebrate Women’s Day, we draw inspiration from some of our crown jewels

Ladies, let’s not just reflect on the hardships we face as women and how we need to compete in a world of men … let’s focus for a moment on all the exceptional things about women.

Let’s list the things that women achieve. We are the givers of life, we are nurturers, we are breadwinners, we are homemakers, we are soldiers, we are mothers and sometimes fathers as well, we are beautiful, we are strong, we feel for others, we are healers, we are lovers, we are fighters, we are empowering, we are leaders and we are followers and the list goes on and on.

I am the first to admit that it’s not all a bed of roses and yes there are days when we stumble and even days when we fall but the secret lies in feeling that pain and then picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and moving forward with the experience of that fall having taught you something that empowers you in the next step you take.

RAMONA MOHANLALL, SPECIAL PROJECTS

I say to you all, let’s celebrate each other’s individual talents and unique beauty. The beauty of being a woman is unparalleled, and I want every woman who is reading this to own her magnetic brilliance. If you’re a man and reading this, please acknowledge a woman in your life today. Hug her a little longer and tell her you know how wonderful she is. We are magnificent creations. We can do, be, feel, have and experience anything we want. We are that powerful. We ARE that amazing! Whitney said it best: ‘I found the greatest love of all inside of me’!

I grew up knowing that every older woman in my community was my mother because of the love and care that they gave to us, as children. We honoured and gave them respect. I developed a passion to be a teacher inspired by those phenomenal women to offer the seeds of hope to young people.

In today’s world, women work themselves up to become leaders and managers. Even though we work twice as hard to be perceived as good, and YES we have risen to the challenge. To become ‘phenomenal women, we need to have what Maya Angelou describes as ‘Strong self confidence’.

Being a woman today means we have a voice and together it is even louder. Our voice is powerful and has the ability to move this nation. As a career woman surrounded by young people, I want to be remembered as a woman who shaped the economy of this country by educating and empowering young people to become economically viable.

JULIA THOBAKGALE, WINGS OF LIFE CYD

I am a proud mother of two. There is no greater gift than being called to care for two souls who mimic everything you do and encompass everything you are. Being a mother has taught me many valuable lessons most of which I have learned from the innocence of my kids. I feel like I have a purpose, that I found my calling, my true meaning of being me! The best job in the world. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am important & feel wanted & loved.

Experiencing the small moments that can’t be explained, characterised, or memorised. Those fleeting moments when your child says something profound, mature, grown-up. Those moments that make you savour the little people they are because you’ve just seen a glimpse that childhood is a blip and time truly does fly. Because you are “mom,” you notice this subtle growing-up in a way no one else possibly could. The connection and love between my kids and I is the greatest part of being a mom.

LEZL BAULACKEY, MARKETING DEPARTMENT




I am proud to be a woman,
I am a mother,
I am a nurture,
I am a leader,
I am powerful,
And this goes to all women.
I have been married, I have divorced, I have been battered, I have been loved, I have been harassed, I have been admired, I have been successful, I have failed and I have laughed and I have cried. I love being a woman. I love being powerful and vulnerable. I love being soft and strong. I love that I can be an elegant lady and a rousing superhero, interchangeably, when and how I choose.

This Women’s Day celebrate your sisters, mothers, gogos and aunts for the powerful women of Africa they are.
Happy Women’s Day!

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2018

Afrika Tikkun on Africa Business Radio

On Friday, 20 July 2018 Afrika Tikkun hosted its first Information Communication Technology (ICT) Academy launch in partnership with Think Tank under the theme ‘let’s tackle the ICT skills shortage’.

The launch event was opened by Group Executive of Partnerships and Marketing, Onyi Nwaneri and Think Tank Managing Director Tebogo Moleta. Also speaking at the event was Cisco’s Soso Motloung on the role of women in IT, and Fortinet’s Peta-Lee Wainer, who addressed the youth and how to develop a career in Network Security Engineering.

Marc Lubner CEO commenting on the launch, said: “”The ICT Academy is vital if youth are to be employable in the fourth industrial revolution. Navigating the net and being able to utilise information technology is as critical as maths and science in today’s world and Afrika Tikkun is committed to providing youth with these employable skills. It’s all part of our holistic development program.”

The ICT Academy launch was intended to be a dialogue between delegates from the IT/ ICT, financial services and network engineering sectors with additional 2018 Afrika Tikkun ICT Academy candidates, representatives from the public sector, NGOs and the corporate sector. Attendants took the opportunity to review the failures, challenges and successes of combatting the skills shortage in the ICT industry and the social and financial determinants impacting the sector, including a discussion on suitable industry aligned skills sets and standards in light of the approaching Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In addition, an exchange took place around the availability of adequate and affordable learning centres, and the effective partnership of Afrika Tikkun and Think Tank with regard to the supply of vendor-specific programs to ensure that these and other opportunities are correctly pursued.

Onyi Nwaneri, Group Executive of Partnerships and Marketing added: “This is the start of great things for Afrika Tikkun in partnership with ThinkTank. We are moving in the right direction to get young people ready for the 4th industrial revolution by training them for jobs that we know they will get when they have graduated. Thanking all our partners present today, including ThinkTank, Cisco, Internet Solutions and Fortinet“. With the rapid evolution of technology in terms of information, communications and artificial intelligence it is imperative that our young people are given as much opportunity as possible to learn and prepare for changing professions and job specifications in the years to come. Afrika Tikkun and Think Tank are committed to working together to better understand and service the ICT sector with a view to looking out for the economic well-being of South Africa’s IT/ ICT sector, but more over to prepare our kids for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to cultivate a future that works for us all.”

“We are creating a generation of Network Security Engineers on the pulse of technology. They are the next generation of leaders and managers in IT. Today marks the beginning of a new journey towards great things.” Think Tank Managing Director Tebogo Moleta

For more information on Afrika Tikkun and their initiatives call 011 325 5914, email info@afrikatikkun.org or visit www.afrikatikkun.org.