KSA has recognised that in its programmatic work the essential ingredient has been the life skills course which aims to build self-esteem, encourage better communication and help participants to become motivated and goal orientated.

Target group and aim

After consultation with schools in the areas around the Kolping Training Centre it was established that there was a need for a life skills and personal growth programme for Matrics (grade 12 learners).  The reason that Bonteheuwel was chosen as a target area for this programme was due to the good networks and relationships built up between the schools in the area and the Kolping Training Centre.  It became clear from discussions with various school principles and Matric coordinators that their students, because of the areas they lived in and the subsequent disadvantage they experienced due to bad socio-economic conditions, needed help in preparation for their final exams not on an academic level but on the level of motivation and planning.  As is the case with many young people living in the townships of the Cape Flats, the Matric learners from the Bonteheuwel area suffered from low self esteem and lacked the skills necessary to adequately plan and prepare for their final exams let alone cope with the stresses and demands it would place on them.  After approaching several schools in the Bonteheuwel area, four schools responded with a definite interest in the programme.  These were Bonteheuwel High, Arcadia High, Beauvallon High and Iqra Academy.

Outcomes

The Kolping Matric Life skills programme began on the 26 June 2006 at the Bonteheuwel Multi Purpose Centre.  Kolping South Africa was able to secure the use of the centre’s facilities for the programme and its ideal central location in Bonteheuwel ensured easy access for the participants from the surrounding schools.  A total of 52 grade 12 learners participated in the programme.  KSA relied on staff as well as our pool of life skills facilitators to deliver the programme to this large group.  As is the case with all other life skills programmes the focus was around small group work thereby ensuring that all learners participated fully.  The programme was highly interactive and relied on visual aids to create a fun but safe and stimulating environment different to what would be experienced at schools.

Facilitators noted that there were a number of problems experienced by learners in the Bonteheuwel area.  These students suffered from a low self-esteem. This impacted on the way they interacted with others as well as having a negative effect on their motivation.  Often their home situation was not conducive to studying and this meant that a support system needed to be established so that participants could rely on each other.  This could be as study groups and even as motivators regarding the goals they established while on the workshop.  A part of the life skills course involved getting participants from the same school to form support groups and to commit to motivating and monitoring their friends.

End of course round up

The course ended with a certificate presentation ceremony for all the participants who attended at least four of the five days.  The students were encouraged to add this certificate to their newly developed CV’s.  They had learnt on day 5 of the course that it was important to build up their CV’s with evidence of volunteer work as well as any course they might have completed outside of their school programmes.  Overall this project proved to be successful and there are definite merits for expanding this type of initiative to other schools in the townships of the Cape Flats.

Evaluation and participant comments

Learners were asked to provide daily feedback about the course. This was in the areas of what they had learnt, what they did enjoy, what they did not enjoy and how the facilitators could improve.  Some of the comments learners made were:

“Atmosphere was not intimidating”

“The course was very encouraging”

“It boosted our self-esteem”

“We did not just sit and listen but were actively involved!”