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Day 13

One hour of tutoring and career advice for a young person in South Africa

A bridge between school and training A bridge between school and training

One hour of tutoring and career advice for a young person in South Africa
Day 13
Promoting young talent in South Africa: focus on scientific subjects and one’s own future

One of the shooting stars of the first round of the project is Spencer. At the start of the project, he didn't plan on going skateboarding with his friends on the weekend. Today, he is studying chemical engineering - funded by a scholarship. He was motivated and supported by the mentoring program specifically for young people, which supports him with all the challenges and decisions during and after school. Although the school enrollment rate in South Africa is high and the illiteracy rate is low (<2% among 15-24 year olds), the country struggles with the quality of teaching, especially in English and mathematics. South Africa recently came 146th out of 148 in a study on the quality of school education. Learning conditions are often poor, particularly in state schools. Support programs for young people from difficult backgrounds therefore make an important contribution to the professional success of young people and thus offer prospects of a self-determined life after leaving school.

Promoting young talent in South Africa: focus on scientific subjects and one’s own future
need
Supporting South African young people in the transition between school and training.
activity
The local NGO Transition Foundations supports young people from a South African township and shows them career prospects after they graduate from school.
Measurable performance
The academic performance of the supported young people is above average.
Result
Increasing the school leaving certificate rate of participating young people and subsequent application for university or training to 100%.
Systemically relevant impact
Participation in South Africa's economic and social advancement regardless of origin, role model and multiplier effect for future generations.
background

What opportunities do I have after I graduate? Why is it important to graduate? These are the questions many young people who are at the end of their school years ask themselves. In South Africa, access to information sources such as the Internet and information about the various career options after graduation is not a given, especially in public schools. Although public spending on education is comparatively high, the quality of education in state schools is often poor. Students from low-income schools in particular are dependent on free state schools. These schools are poorly equipped financially and in terms of staff, which means that the education of the students, as well as the support and the presentation of prospects, suffer. Accordingly, only a fraction of school leavers go on to attend university or complete vocational training. The unemployment rate among graduates is very high. The "Young, African & Dreaming" program is intended to counteract precisely this situation and to prepare young people for the future in the long term by providing early support.

Midrand - part of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa
Day 13 Day 13
The good deed

"Young, African & Dreaming" is a project supported by Go Ahead! in cooperation with Transition Foundations. It accompanies young people between the ages of 16 and 18 for three years at a state school in Midrand, South Africa, until they graduate and supports them in the transition to university or vocational training. The students meet for 10 weeks each semester on Saturdays and Sundays to prepare together for life after school. The focus is on two points: (1) the "Minds-in-Transition" tutoring program for science subjects and English, and (2) the "Lives-in-Transition" program to promote soft skills and to deal with personal career and future planning. In addition, there are regular trips to historically significant places. The project gives the young people the incentive and motivation to finish school with good grades and then go on to university or vocational training. The number of school graduates with prospects can thus be increased in the long term.

AboutSouth Africa
Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
Capital city
53 157 500
53 157 500
Population
6 483 USD
6 483 USD
Gross domestic product per capita per year
118
118
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

The only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived is in South Africa. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto (a township in the southwest of Johannesburg).
About the organization and further information

organization

Go Ahead! eV

Transparent Civil Society Initiative

Further links