ASHLEY KRIEL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTRE “educate to liberate” AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 01 CONTENTS 2. Mission & Vision [email protected] 3. Birth of AKSDC 4. Word from Chairperson 5. Word from Director ASHLEY KRIEL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 6. Impact Report CENTRE 7. Transformation Stories 8. Financial Highights 9. Ashley Kriel Story WWW.AKSDC.ORG Our Staff Our Management CONNECT. PARTNER. FUND. Registration No: NPO 177-923 NPC 2016/394906/08 Tel: +27 21 697 1824 Admin Tel: +27 21 697 0442 Director Fax: 086 603 348 Physical Address: College of Cape Town, Crawford Campus ,Kromboom Road AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 02 ABOUT AKSDC The Ashley Kriel Skills Development Centre (AKSDC) was birthed in 2016 out of a community need to offer young people a pathway to accessing job-opportunities so that they are able to carve out sustainable livelihoods for themselves and become economically active members of civil society. Crime and violence in Bonteheuwel, located on the Western Cape Flats, South Africa, had escalated to such an extent that gangsterism, drugs and moral decadence had become deep-rooted in the community. What exacerbated the problem was the high rate of unemployment particularly amongst young people that has increased exponentially. Inspired by an infamous South African hero and youth activist, Ashley Kriel, the passionate team of the AKSDC soldiers on against the fight of poverty that plagues our communities. MISSION, VISION, AND GOALS AKSDC aims to serve through the following objectives: • To raise awareness in the public mind of the plight of young unemployed people in South Africa. • To promote and develop a consciousness of deepening a democracy, human rights and social justice in honour of the role that Ashley Kriel played as freedom fighter in South Africa • To equip unemployed young people with job readiness skills and social programmes to improve their socio- economic circumstances. • To network with other organizations Locally, Nationally and Internationally • To raise awareness in the public mind about AKSDC AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 03 THE BIRTH OF AKSDC I have always had the innate belief that Bonteheuwel is worthy of being called the Soweto of the South. Similarly to the make-up of great leaders born in the South Western Territories of South Africa (SOWETO), I have witnessed how people born in Bonteheuwel have emerged as great leaders in this country - as politicians, doctors, lawyers, pastors, actors and who knows, even presidents may still rise up from this historically disadvantaged community one day. A whirlpool of talent still currently still exists in our community and I am so proud to say with all sincerity that I am privileged to be part of the development of Bonteheuwel for two specific reasons. The first reason that comes to mind is that I am the principal of Bonteheuwel High School where Ashley Kriel attended high school in the 1980’s. It is also the place where a community meeting was held on 16 June 2016 with the assistance of Bonteheuwel High’s Representative Council of Learners (RCL) more than 1500 young people signed a pledge mandating for the development of the Ashley Kriel Skills Development Centre. I am humbled by the confidence and faith that the community had in me to start a Skills Development Centre. This challenge was immediately taken up when our school governing body under the leadership of Ms. Colleen Engel, a parent and a resident of the community assigned Dr.Scott-Muller to assist us into bringing the Ashley Kriel Skills Development Centre into existence. Once established as an educational NPO, one of our first exercises was for the community to develop a logo for the Ashley Kriel Skills Development Centre. Imagine if all historically marginalised communities in South Africa can address adversarial social issues, how prosperous South Africa will be. In the true saying of Ashley Kriel “each one, teach one’ the fate and South African youth lay at the door of young people to inspire and motivate future generations. It is thus incumbent on all of us in Bonteheuwel to reclaim the greatness of this community which will one day become world renowned for the contributions that they made within a nation building context. Nothing less is expected of us to honour the legacy of Ashley Kriel! So I implore you to join us in building our community, building our nation, building the futures of young people in this beautiful country of ours, they so richly deserve it. The time has come to reclaim Bonteheuwel as a beacon of hope to young people and the future of this beautiful community of ours. Ms Nicola Pather "we can change our socio-economic circumstances" AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 04 WORD FROM a sustainable difference in the lives of young people. The resurgence and uprising amongst socio-political young people in Bonteheuwel has not completely died down. At a THE CHAIR community meeting held in Bonteheuwel on Youth Day, 16 Despite South Africa’s inception of a June 2016 more than 1500 young people voiced their democratic government more than two consent for the establishment of the Ashley Kriel Skills decades ago, historically disadvantaged Development Centre to address unemployment. We were communities on the Cape Flats such as able to share another historical event by approaching the Bonteheuwel/ Langa and surrounding late Achmat Kathrada, who spent his 87th birthday with communities in the Western Cape, learners of Bonteheuwel High School to be the patron of the South Africa still have not progressed as Ashley Kriel Skills Development Centre.The Ashley Kriel freedom fighters such as the late Skills development Centre was born to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela, Ashley Kriel and so significant contributions that young people, despite living in many others so passionately fought for. adversarial conditions in historically disadvantaged In fact gangsterism, crime and violence communities, have made. In partnership with the College of and high levels of poverty and Cape Town and the National Skills Fund we are able to realise unemployment among young people yet our dream of becoming one of the first established abates in these communities. The Community Colleges in South Africa. We have a challenging urgency of breaking the back of road ahead but would like to thank each and everyone who gangsterism and criminal activity is have played a part in the development of the AKSDC. compelling if we want to make a Ms Collen Engel "We remain committed and dedicated to being a beacon of hope." AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 05 WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR "South Africa is a nation of community spirited people driven by Godly intent. In this regard we have coined the phrase “Ubuntu” and “rainbow nation” as a diverse people able to live in harmony and peace with each other. ." poverty with escalating levels of unemployment particularly amongst The Ashley Kriel Development Centre represents a legacy young people. We sincerely thank the for all our freedom fighters who have died in pursuit of principal of the College of Cape Town, Mr. attaining a democratic and just South African society. For Louis Van Niekerk and his management the past year the AKSDC created its footprints through team for assisting with the establishment programmes supported by the National Skills Fund into of the Ashley Kriel Skills Development as a uniquely constructed incubator programmes providing pilot programme for the Department of future access to more than 1500 young people with further Higher Education and Training education, provided restorative counselling to more than (DHET).Through the partnership of one of 200 learners with positive futures through our psycho- South Africa’s finest TVET Colleges, the social programme and have built the capacity of more than College of Cape Town, AKSDC will be one 200 community development workers. We have also of South Africa’s first Community Colleges managed to provide leadership programmes to established in terms of the FET Act of 2013. representative council of learners as well as deployed 300 This will make Bonteheuwel a pace setter, teacher assistants into primary schools in historically paving the way for the establishment of disadvantaged communities as far as Klapmuts, a rural similar community colleges throughout community near Stellenbosch. This was all accomplished in South Africa. The AKSDC remains our first year of existence! We are currently in our second dedicated and committed in its quest to year and are equally ambitious in rolling out similar becoming a beacon of hope to the programmes in the community of Bonteheuwel and development and aspirations of young surrounds. Although we have been approached to deliver people in the communities that we serve. AKSDC programmes on a national scale, it is our intention to strengthen our communities on the Cape Flats, riddled Dr. Lionel Scott-Muller with crime violence and gangsterism plagued by abject AKSDC ANNUAL REPORT 2017 06 IMPACT REPORT TARGET ACHIEVED 2550 2581 Grade 12 learners are given additional skills of the processes of application 1541 and registration and the basket of services that TVET Colleges or the world of work has to offer. References are made to potential funders, the options of applying for bursaries. This programme has been extremely successful as local TVET Colleges have approached AKSDC as far afield as ithe Eastern ACCESS PROGRAMME Cape. The programme is designed to give learners with barriers or adversarial 214 circumstances additional skills to access opportunities in the world of work or further their education. The programme targets 20-30 year old learners who face psycho-social stress ranging from HIV AIDS positive PSYCHO-SOCIAL learners, attempted suicides, premature fathers and mothers in Grade 12, aggressive behavior, domestic violence, abuse and neglect. PROGRAMME This programme focuses on assisting with building the capacity of 212 community workers with skills to being of service to unemployed young people in the community and with building the capacity of representative council of learners with skills to offer development projects to their school ORIENTATION AND community.