Columba Leadership Academy
Since early 2012, the Columba Leadership Academy has been a part of youth empowerment in villages bordering the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. The programme is currently running in 7 high schools in the region.
Working with Grade 10s to activate youth through the academy’s values-based leadership, has resulted in significant early impact.
Columba graduates serve as a positive influence on their peers, school and communities through constructive group action in their remaining two years at school. They are supported by educators and school leaders who also participate in the academy.
Examples of individual graduates’ successes are the positive transitions – such as university acceptance – that many of them made recently as they completed Grade 12 and left school.
Some highlights of how local Columba graduates have initiated change across their schools are:
- 2012 Columba graduates from Manyangana High School in Utah helped to reduce teenage pregnancy and significantly increase academic achievement. The school’s 2013 graduates have built a vegetable garden and transformed the state of the school’s toilets.
- At Bondzeni High School in Kildare, learners refurbished their school hall using their own time and resources. The hall is being used again for the first time in many years. They have also significantly reduced littering in their school through innovative solutions.
- Hlomani High School’s graduates developed their own solution to classroom cleanliness – for every class to have a broom. Funds were raised and their plan has been implemented and is working well.
- Learners at Mawewe High School between Dumphries A and Dumphries B and Phulani High School in Ireagh have grown their own vegetable gardens and have begun to address their peers on key social issues.
- Academies have been started at Dumphries C High School in Dumphries C Village and Machaye High School in Newington. We look forward to positive individual and group impact at these schools.
Annual academies with new participants at each school are implemented to ensure increasing and lasting progress. We were delighted to learn that Columba groups from different schools have also started to meet up independently. This shows that a movement of responsible leadership among the youth is developing in Bushbuckridge.
These measurable improvements have been made possible through the support and partnership of Columba Leadership, Sabi Sand Pfunanani Trust, Buffelshoek Trust, Pride ’n Purpose, Africa Foundation and esiDulini Trust.