Khula July News
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| Dear Friends, South Africa continues to hold the unenviable position of having the highest rate of unemployment in the world, with limited educational attainment, as well as social and economic disadvantages, being the primary drivers. So in this newsletter, we are proud to spotlight just a few examples of our successes in getting more rural young people into gainful employment. In a recent article Stats SA highlighted the critical impact that experiential learning, apprenticeships, and other forms of exposure to the workplace have in drastically improving youth’s chances of getting into work. The experience 'dividend' reveals that youth with experience outperform youth without experience by a massive 4 to 1. That’s why KHULA continues to emphasise the vital importance of job readiness both inside and outside the classroom, and in the past few months, we have been absolutely thrilled to see these efforts resulting in more jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for local youth. This month, we are also encouraging our supporters to get on your bike, or pull on your walking or running shoes, in aid of KHULA Education. Visit our Remote: Ride for a Reason page and read on to find out how to get involved...WATCH: After taking part in KHULA's Job Readiness training, Ntando sets up her own small business!Ntando had been looking for work for some time when she signed up to KHULA's Job Readiness training. Upon completion, and bolstered by the new skills she had learned, Ntando decided to set up her own small business, providing childcare services for children in her community. As you can see, her creche is already thriving and KHULA will continue to support her with the skills needed to successfully run a childcare facility. Meet Thabani and Anele, both now in gainful employment   21-year-old Thabani (above left) has suffered a few setbacks in his life and was struggling to find work. In 2023 he joined our 5 day Job Readiness workshop and upon completion almost immediately secured a 6 month role with Nquthu Municipality. When we recently learned of an opportunity for local youth to be put forward for a year long paid Learnership with our partner DHL, we instantly thought of Thabani, and we’re so glad we did, because he was one of ten young people selected in a highly competitive process and started working at DHL on 1st July! The majority of DHL’s learnership students go on to secure fulltime employment at the company and whatever Thabani decides, this experience will have a lifechanging impact on his career prospects. Meanwhile, Anele (above right), alongside five other young women, was supported by KHULA into a three month placement with Paladin Consulting in 2023. Impressed by their hard work and professionalism, we are so thrilled that Paladin has continued to employ all six of them, and it was touching to recently receive this message from Anele: “I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the invaluable support and guidance KHULA provided that led me to my present employment at Paladin Consulting's Dundee Digital Skills Hub. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the remarkable work KHULA continues to do within my community. Your unwavering commitment has made a significant difference in the lives of many; it's evident that your efforts have positively influenced our community in profound ways. "I am reminded of the importance of giving back and having a meaningful impact. I am committed to one day leverage my skills and talents to contribute to KHULA Education. I believe that by working together one day we can amplify the positive impact we have on our community and create a lasting change. ”Madrinha Scholars and TTN Fellows graduate and enter the workforce!   Recent months have seen a flurry of graduations for our Madrinha scholars and Teach the Nation Fellows, who have gone on to enter roles in education and healthcare. Among them are Sisimeme (above right), now employed at Balfour Community Health Centre after graduating with a degree in Radiology. Meanwhile, KHULA's very own Sne Majozi (left image, far right) has just been awarded her Post Graduate Certificate in Education. After showing outstanding potential as a student of Shiyane High School, we were thrilled to award Sne a Madrinha scholarship so she could attend university. Then, while volunteering at her old High School in her final year of university, Sne "fell in love with teaching" and upon graduation, was accepted onto our Teaching Fellowship, working part time in KHULA-supported schools while also studying for her PGCE. This year, Sne joins KHULA as a fulltime English teacher and we couldn't be happier! She says: “I feel like it's like a dream - I was a kid, and now I'm working with my former teachers. I feel so lucky to be working at KHULA."Join us and Ride for a Reason throughout JulyRemote: Ride for a Reason is back! This July, join together with your colleagues, friends, family or go solo and get on your bike to raise funds for KHULA Education. Last year's inaugural event raised over £10,000 and we hope to smash that target in 2024 with riders (and walkers/runners/swimmers!) joining us remotely from all over the world. Find out more on our event page.Cheer on our riders by sponsoring them today! And last but not least... Head to our Facebook page to get the full story on: KHULA Education's work being cited as an example of evidence-based systems strengthening in education in British Expertise International’s new report ‘Systems Strengthening: The UK education providers’ contribution to global education systems’. The launch of our paid Learnership programme, providing paid experiential learning for 10 young women in partnership with Human Capital Investments. And a very sweet video of our preschoolers learning about the importance of caring for the environment as well as how to grow their own veggies! |
| Thank you to our partner the Kinship programme for this beautiful video! |
| With thanks to you for making all this possible, Iona, Debbie and the KHULA team Donate to support our award-winning programmes for young people |
