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Sikhulule High School is much like any other township school – under-resourced, plagued by township social ills and performing poorly. “We are now a beacon of hope!” says Melumzi Mbovane, the Principal.  “The attitude of the community towards the school has changed – they now see hope where they previously saw hopelessness.”

Wandisile Mbengashe, who at the time was a Quality Manager at Foxtec-Ikhwezi, a component parts manufacturer in the ELIDZ, was selected by his company in 2018 to participate in the Find Your Voice Young Adult Leadership Programme (FYV), initiated by the Gately Club of Rotary, which develops active and ethical leaders.  The course got him thinking about how he could do something to give back to the community which is one of the required outcomes of the programme.

“I was driving past Sikhulule School in Mdantsane and suddenly got an urge to go inside. I asked to see the headmaster.  “I told him that I’m not a teacher, I can’t donate money, but I do have business skills and a degree”.  A very surprised headmaster said “I had been knocking on company doors for help for years and suddenly this young professional comes knocking on mine.”  The school welcomed him with open arms and the idea of Lit Mindz was born.

In a meeting with the teachers, it was agreed one of the biggest challenges was the ability to provide sufficient support to the students struggling with Maths and Science.  “I immediately saw that the students needed inspiration, they needed hope” says Wandisile.  “I arranged to take the 40 maths students on a tour of my company. They saw the opportunities they can get with a matric pass.”

Wandisile arranged to visit the school on a regular basis, he spoke to the students about his own personal experiences, he invited guest speakers to share their stories of hardship and success and, slowly, he could see that the students were starting to become inspired and motivated.

The second intervention saw him arranging tutors from the university – paid for by himself and the other FYV programme initiators – to help the high school students with maths and science.  “We held a study camp at the school to help prepare the students for exams.  At the end of that year the school achieved a 100% pass mark in maths – a significant improvement from the 39% that the school had achieved in the previous year.”

Lit Mindz has grown from year to year including the involvement of other young professionals committed to assisting learners to excel in their studies.  The programme includes plant tours to manufacturing companies for the learners to see science in action, monthly motivational talks, and the hosting of maths and science camps to prepare matriculants for interim and final exams

The school has seen an improvement in the matric pass rate from 38% in 2018 to 68% in 2021.  Wandisile hopes that they can improve this to 100% and both he and the principal have seen the positive turnaround of students who are now motivated to focus on their futures with the help of a matric qualification.

Since the inception of Lit Mindz in 2018, Wandisile has taken up a position as Production Manager for First National Battery managing 120 employees, but is still committed to the students of Sikhulule High School.  “The Lit Mindz initiative is part of me now and there is still a lot to be done” says Wandisile. 

For more information about The Young Adult Rotary Leadership Development Programme visit www.rotaryfindyourvoice.co.za