Ikamva Youth

In South Africa, pass rates for secondary school completion exams (“matric exams”) are low and falling, as are the rates of qualification for post-secondary studies; this situation is made worse by the fact that job opportunities are increasingly linked to having passed the matric. Ikamva Youth was founded to address the inequities in educational quality that persist post-apartheid, helping its participants from poor townships: be prepared academically for tertiary study or employment; understand available careers and how to qualify for them; access funding for further education; express themselves constructively and assertively, have the skills to succeed in their post-secondary endeavors (e.g. computers skills, team work); and know how to protect their health.

EMpower’s fifth grant provides general operating support to Ikamva Youth’s organizational goals for 2013 and 2014 including increasing capacity to manage additional branches and plan for a long term vision to bring their model to scale.