Lessons Learnt
Over the duration of Micah6's existence, we have learnt two things:
1. School fees don’t change lives – people do
2. The impossible for some can become the possible through others
Lesson one: School fees don’t change lives – people do
Providing school fees is not enough to change to life. Young people need mentorship, guidance and encouragement. They need people to help them with a maths homework problem, give them sound advice and set a good example.
Our Response:
In the absence of an adequate support structure at home, the girls needed a safe place to gather and learn after school. With the help of volunteers, we began extra mathematics and English classes every Tuesday after school. The purpose of this class is to bring the girls together as a group, keep up to date with their general progress and assist in their continuing education. The classes have proved to be very successful and we have now extended the programme to include weekend computer literacy lessons. Through the acquisition of netbook computers, we have been able to take the computers to the school and provide additional mentorship and computer training that they would not normally receive during normal school lessons.
Lesson Two- The impossible for some becomes the possible through others
If someone desires to dream passionately and willing to work, if it is at all possible to make their dream a reality, why not?
Our Response:
Two of the original ten girls who started school at Sparks Estate Secondary School in 2009, Hlengiwe and Avela, dared to do something that girls in their situations rarely get the privilege to do: dream. Hlengiwe and Avela dream't of going to Inanda Seminary School. Both aged 14 and in grade nine, Hlengiwe and Avela have continually stood out from the group and have displayed exceptional character and academic potential over the time that I have known them. After having worked with the girls for eighteen months, we saw that if given the right opportunity, these girls had the potential to excel far beyond confines of the their schooling and living environment at the time.
Inanda Seminary is a full boarding Christian school for girls in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal. This school is historically significant for our country, and particularly more so for young black women. The school dates back to 1869 and has the reputation of having raised a number of highly successful women, many of whom today occupy top positions in government and the corporate sector. Graduates from Inanda Seminary School include Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (former South African Minister of Health), Ms Nozizwe Madladla-Routledge (Deputy Minister of Defence) and Ms Baleka Mbete (Deputy Speaker of Parliament).
Inanda Seminary School offers Tracy and Avela the opportunity to expand their natural leadership skills, maximize their academic potential, and explore a variety of sporting and cultural activities. The boarding environment would provide them with a social network of scholars as well as future opportunities for collaboration in adulthood. Yet, despite these obvious advantages, the greatest benefit of attending Inanda Seminary, as so poignantly expressed by Tracy’s aunt and Avela’s mother, is the safety the school would provide. Both Tracy and Avela currently live in shacks in the informal settlement of Cato Manor. Their homes are vulnerable to intruders and their lives are subject to the perils of an often hostile environment. Like many other girls from Cato Manor, time that should be spent doing homework is given to fulfilling household chores and fetching water. While necessary for survival these activities in place of school work are detrimental to schooling progress.
In June 2010 Tracy and Avela were accepted into Inanda Seminary and started their first day on school on 12 July 2010!
Due to generous sponsorship by The Ethekweni Rotary Educational Trust, the girls are two years later still at Inanda and thriving. There lives will never be the same again.
Due to generous sponsorship by The Ethekweni Rotary Educational Trust, the girls are two years later still at Inanda and thriving. There lives will never be the same again.
