Ms. Tsatsi is the Headmistress, or Principal, at Minerva High School in Alexandra Township. The school accommodates the 10th through 12th grade children from the community, which has a rich anti-aparthaid history and vibrant culture but suffers from endemic poverty, violence, unemployment, and failing infrastructure. Ms. Tsatsi says, “Our learners face a lot of challenges. We have students from child-headed households. The rate of sexual abuse and rape, and the number of girls who become pregnant from those incidents, is increasing. The impact of all of this is seen in their results.”
When Global Camps Africa connected with Ms. Tsatsi to ask if she would like to have our young women’s empowerment program offered to the students at her school, she was very excited. “We have limitations,” she said. “Our staff is only trained to implement the academic curriculum, but our learners have other challenges that we cannot address.” The partnership was born, and our Sizanani team is leading three-day weekend day camp sessions for 10th grade girls to empower them to fight gender-based violence, teach them about reproductive health and pregnancy prevention, and plan for their healthy, productive futures. When she introduced the program to the girls in her school, she says, “I could see the excitement of our learners when we told them about the kind of activities they would experience at Camp Sizanani.”
“Looking at the problems that we have here at the school, this program is something that all of my learners should be a part of. Having 130 students per camp, targeting 10th-grade girls, has helped us. We can evaluate the progress of those learners as they continue through the institution,” says Ms. Tsatsi. Understanding the current and emerging needs of the children, and truly connecting with them, are two critical components to the success of our school-based programs. Ms. Tsatsi shared an example with our team in a recent conversation: “We have a case of a learner who has been sexually assaulted, and through Sizanani there has been a breakthrough in that case. The child is now opening up, and the involvement of Camp Sizanani with that family has made things better for that student. We have made progress in that case as a result of Camp Sizanani.”
In 2021, Global Camps Africa developed thriving partnerships with six schools across five deeply disadvantaged areas of the townships around Johannesburg. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 epidemic, our school-based programs reached more than 1,400 young women and girls with life-skills education and empowerment, psychosocial support, and a lasting connection to caring, supportive adults. After the day camps, the girls are invited to enroll in our follow-on program, Virtual Youth Clubs, where they receive ongoing academic tutoring, health and wellness education, and access to resources that help with food insecurity, healthcare, and other needed social services.
Ms. Tsatsi’s message to us is clear and direct. She says,
“I extend a word of appreciation first. You are doing a good job. I wish we could have more of these camps. I wish we could have these services extended to all learners. The schools you have partnered with are not highly resourced, and they really depend on people like you to make a difference in these children’s lives. As a school, we are the last hope for these learners and we are here to break the cycle of poverty. Our learners can be well capacitated and empowered to deal with the challenges they will face out there after grade twelve.”