By Lekodi Magombo | Programme Manager
Funny to think that an idea coming from an exchange between students and their visiting University Lecturer during a prolonged college closure has grown into a full-fledged programme that has impacted not only leadership and growth of various dreamers but also helped in overcoming various social challenges in many communities. Starting in 2011 with a cohort of 10 students, SWD has to date engaged more than 150 students and is still going. We are proud to be able to share the amazing results and insights from a new Impact Evaluation report for the SWD programme- we’re sharing snippets of dreamer stories below, and you can read the full report here.
“Before Students with Dreams (SWD) I was just another student. I’d say SWD unleashed my potential. I learned loads from the trainings and it made me want to read and learn more. Learning about Human-Centred Design was particularly impactful. So many programmes are top-down, just bringing information to the people, whereas HCD is about deeply involving people. It got me more interested in communities as agents of change, and how I can bring that out. Also, the use of art and encouraging community members to share their songs, dances etc.-that’s something I’ve taken forward. It breaks the ice and also helps them realise they can bring their ideas rather than just be passive recipients.” This was the reflection of Tawonga, a dreamer who co-founded Pamthuzi to address low literacy skills among youth and create an interactive learning experience, using creative tools to enable youth to critically examine and form opinions about social issues that affect them.
SWD has not only built the skills and knowledge of the dreamers, for some, it has helped them in the choice of career direction. As Akula from Zaluso Arts reveals, “When we started the project with SWD, we had no idea what we wanted to do career-wise. Having the chance to experiment with following our dreams had a huge impact. We’re now sustaining ourselves and having social impact through our art. It’s hard to imagine how we’d have got here without that starting point.”
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