"How many young 'Thuli Madonsela's' are trapped in South African townships today?" These words, spoken to encourage the gift of OPPORTUNITY, were close to the last of inspirational Charmaine Schwenn, tragically gone long before her time. The YWOW project now celebrates her life and memory, developing talented and deserving Young Women of Worth into leaders of Faith, Compassion and Courage for South Africa's future. Our much-admired Time-celebrated former Public Protector has set a high bar!!
South Africa's educational crisis has been precipitated by inadequate teacher skills, teacher-related issues, poor basic skills of learners, high drop-out rates and poverty. Only 35% of sixth graders are numerate at an acceptable level. Although 86% of 16-to 18-year-olds are in school, only 5% complete grade 12 by age 18. Completing grade 12 raises the possibility of finding a job significantly to 67%, whilst going on to post-secondary education improves employment probability further to 86%.
'Teach a woman, Teach a nation' ~ African proverb : In close partnership with participating schools, this project aims to educate and empower up to 30 TALENTED & DESERVING 'Young Women of Worth' (YWOW) over the next 5 years. The YWOW VALUE PROPOSITION is based on three underlying Epworth School principles: 1. Continue a legacy of educating to world-class standards 2. Respond to society's need for more talented and well-educated young women 3. Educate women as the key to societal progress.
The need for high-quality education in South Africa is immense and our project will only be able to support a small percentage of talented and deserving young women. Since these 'leaders' will however potentially affect large parts of society, we will invest in and partner with the best available educational networks, schools and professional methodologies to guarantee optimal and measurable outcomes. Beneficiaries will be nurtured by a distinctive mentorship program and volunteer professionals
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
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