Home to make a difference – but I need help!

After 4 years away, I have been back in SA since May last year.  It has not been an easy adjustment at all – in fact, I still miss my London flat, mates and life so much.   But I’m trying not to dwell on that too much, but rather focusing on the good things about being home – of which there are many of course.  One of those is the opportunity to make a real difference in peoples’ lives.  I am so blessed to have a job that helps me do just that…I’m running a youth employability programme for unemployed graduates in Jo’burg.  We are equipping them with ICT and employability skills that will make them more employable.  Youth unemployment is such a huge issue in SA and I believe is the reason for a lot of our other problems (such as crime), so doing something about that is really rewarding (and completely exhausting too!)  We have been running the programme with 21 graduates since October last year.  They are about to ‘graduate’ from the programme, and a second group of 25 will begin the 5 month programme in two weeks time.  We desperately need some help to ensure that we can run an effective programme with this second group and do all we can to help them find work and become productive members of society.  There are a number of ways you can assist…so please let me know if you feel you can help in any way:

1. Funding: we urgently need funding to cover the costs of having Internet connectivity for the graduates and project team; as well as funding to cover the costs of hiring a suitable venue – we are currently making use of space at Sci-Bono Discovery Centre but it is uncertain whether we will be able to continue staying here, so we’re looking for a venue that can accommodate 25 students plus 5 staff members.  All we really need is a room with tables and chairs and power outlets, we have everything else.  And ideally the venue needs to be somewhere near major public transport routes as all are graduates make use of public transport.
2. Mentors: each graduate on the programme is assigned an ‘eMentor’ who provides guidance and advice to the menttee as they progress along their journey.  Most of the communication is online – email, instant messaging, etc – although there will be opportunities to meet face to face.  An eMentor can be from any industry as the main focus is just assisting your mentee through this process of seeking and preparing for work.  We are particularly in need of male mentors…if you are interested, please get in touch.
3. Job shadowing positions: We would ideally like to provide opportunities for each graduate to spend two weeks in a job shadowing placement to give them hands on experience of what the working world is like. If you, your company, or someone you know is able to assist with this, please let me know.
4. Speakers: we are constantly looking for external speakers / facilitators to run workshops with our graduates.  The topic could be ICT related or more general e.g. leadership, effective communication, goal setting, entrepreneurship…anything goes.  Please let me know if you can help with this too.

You can find more information (and photographs) about the programme on our website: http://newfutures.schoolnet.org.za – please note that some pages are still under construction.   Contact details are on the site, or just reply to this post.

Thank you so much for reading this and know that if you do get involved, you are doing so much to make this beautiful country even more so!

Thanks,

Sally