Project Work

The projects we are delivering in South Africa

	Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund The late Walter Sisulu was a great friend and supporter of Education Africa. In recognition of this and to honour the invaluable contribution he made to the country, Walter and Albertina Sisulu, together with Education Africa, set up the Walter Sisulu Fund in 1995. The objective of this fund is to help poor and previously disadvantaged students by providing them with access to quality, relevant eduction. Students are assisted through secondary and tertiary education scholarships. To date, over 3,450 scholarships have been awarded.
	The Unisa Programmes Education Africa, in partnership with UNISA, has developed two programmes for tertiary education to help develop future business leaders and entrepreneurs. The Business-focused Management, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management programme have already helped thousands of people access the South African job market.
	Social Architecture This project aims at building affordable education facilities in the impoverished regions of South Africa. Architectural students from intemational universities come to South Africa to design and construct pre-schools, skills centres and facilities for the disabled. Only simple and inexpensive materials are used, and unemployed local residents assist the students, encouraging the important transfer of skills and knowledge. So far, 10 centres have been built, with a further two centres planned for 2000.
	Masibambane College Masibambane College is an Anglican Diocesan school built and supported by Education Africa and St John's College. The school is situated 50km south of Johannesburg in Orange Farm an impoverished community. The school has 670 students enrolled and in 2010 it will become a High School as additional facilities are currently being constructed. A wide range of community outreach programmes are run from Masibambane College for the benefit of the Orange Farm community. The school's outreach centre focuses on after-school care and cares for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. Development workshops are held and they focus on teaching English and Maths. The college also runs early development works In partnership with Education Africa's ECD practitioner.
	Cycle Aid for Africa Many children who attend under-resourced schools in impoverished communities come from rural areas. and have to walk for hours every day just to get to school and back. When they arrive at school they are already tired. which naturally affects their scholastic performance. Cycle Aid for Africa is a hugely successful Education Africa project that distributes mountain bikes and equipment to under-resourced schools and has thus improved the quality of life of many of these disadvantaged children. So far over 11,000 bicycles have been distributed, and workshops have been run at the schools so that learners are taught how to maintain the bicycles as well.
	Edu-bike Africa This educational programme developed by Education Africa is designed around the bicycle theme with an outcomes-based focus to promote entrepreneurial skills. This is a practical and inspiring educational programme which uses the familiar object of a bicycle as a teaching and learning tool. Education Africa provides all programme facilitators with fully prepared cross-curricular teaching materials for all their lessons as well as exercise books for the children. So far over 142,000 children have benefited from the programme.
	SAMUN The South African Model United Nations (SAM UN) Debating Conferences have bOOn organized by Education Africa at provincial, national and intemationallevel for over eleven years. The conferences pair learners from resourced and under-resourced schools in a debating team to compete against other schools. The programme promotes cross-cultural exchange and gives disadvantaged leamers the opportunity to compete on an equal footing as they have access to research resources through their partner schools. The debates are based on the principles and format of a UN General Assembly Debate, with a focus on the United Nations, global issues, intemational relations and human rights issues. The debates culminate in the SAMUN International Conference in Cape Town and on Robben Island. The SAMUN reaches over 500 South African High Schools in all of our nine provinces.
	HIV/AIDS Primary Healthcare and Education This pilot project includes an educational programme as well as a mobile health care clinic that will provide primary health care. As part of this intervention, Education Africa will invite five schools in the Orange Farm area to partici~te in the pilot. The project will also strongly focus on the education and voluntary treatment of sexually transmitted infections in an attempt to reduce the risk of an HIV infection.
	Early Childhood Development The ECO Practitioner will organise and run training workshops, to assist teachers with the implementation of the school curriculum, as well as offer continuous onsite follow-up support. The practitioner will train and provide follow-up support to the pre-school teachers at the Masibambane College and they will support the aftercare facility for the AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. The ECO practitioner ensure that these facilities are effectively run and well maintained.