Empowering South African Youth Through Education

Thabsile first told me almost two years ago that she dreamed of attending the University of Cape Town.  This would be a big dream for any South African young person, but for a township learner like Thabsile it was like reaching for the sky.  Nkanyiso, another of our learners from the Class of 2016, discovered his big dream while attending Engineering Winter School with The Umkhumbane Schools Project in 2015.  Winter School opened a new world of possibility in Nkanyiso's mind, and he set his sights on becoming a civil engineer. 

January can be a cruel month for young people dreaming of attending university in South Africa, particularly for learners like Thabsile, Nkanyiso, and others coming from township schools like those where The Umkhumbane Schools Project works.  National final exam results come out in the first days of the New Year, and are pubilshed in newspapers across the country.  For the small number of township learners who will have applied for university admission, far-reaching decisions will be made on the basis of these results, and there will be little time to respond before registration dates have passed.  Statistically, even for these learners who have been high achievers within the walls of their individual schools, the likely admissions decision will be a rejection.  Put in simple terms, only a handful of rural and township learners get the opportunity to enter the halls of South African universities.  

The Umkhumbane Schools Project is working to increase the odds that learners from the Cato Manor township will gain access to higher education.  From our math and science programming, to our academic and career guidance initiatives, to our scholarship advising efforts, to our determined efforts to quickly find alternatives for learners receiving rejection notices in early January  --  in the end one of our most important goals is to connect our learners with opportunities to continue studying, with the goal of moving more and more of them into higher-end employment, thereby bringing them a chance to escape the weight of poverty and realize their full potential.  

Imagine our elation when January brought good news to Thabsile and Nkanyiso, our hard-working dreamers!  Thabsile learned last week that she has been accepted to study Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town, and Nkanyiso has this week received an offer of admission for Civil Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand, another of South Africa's premier universities.  No words can adequately capture the joy, relief, and optimism  --  mixed with just a bit of trepidation  --  these two young people are feeling right now.  We share in their joy, and are so proud of their hard work and determination.  

Over the last two years, both Thabsile and Nkanyiso have been bright stars in a variety of The Umkhumbane Schools Project's programs.  Thabsile was among the top performers in our Grade 10 Saturday Maths classes in 2014, and was in our Eskom Expo for Young Scientists program that same year, earning a Bronze Medal at the regional competition.  After earning a Silver Medal as one of our learners at the regional competition in 2015,  Nkanyiso was chosen to go on to the International Science Fair that year.   As they both moved into their last year of high school in 2016, our team of mentors was able to provide these two and others with college guidance, assistance with the opaque and complicated admissions process, and help with applications to potential scholarship providers and South Africa's higher education loan program.  We still await news on scholarships, while the loan program funding is likely to come through sometime this coming week.  In addition to helping to support all of this work, your Global Giving donations have enabled The Umkhumbane Schools Project to pay application and registration fees for several learners, with several more of these payments still upcoming.  

As we send Thabsile and Nkanyiso off to pursue their dreams in Cape Town and Johannesburg, we are so grateful to all of our Global Giving donors for making our work possible.  Together, we are offering glimpses of a wider horizons. Together, we are opening doors.  And together, we are helping to make dreams come true.

On behalf of Thabsile, Nkanyiso, and all of us here at The Umkhumbane Schools Project, thank you!