Yenzakahle Foundation
What does your company do?
Yenzakahle Foundation is set at the heart of KwaZulu-Natal in a township called Esikhawini. With a huge drive and great plans to make a difference in the community it operates in. This organization aims at tackling issues within the education system and assisting young people in the community to reach their inner most ability and potential. Yenzakahle Foundation has taken part in multiple initiatives which include hosting an Annual Spelling Bee Competition in commemoration of World Book Day in which we promote reading, publishing, and copyright. The idea behind the concept is to assist participants with improving their grammar, building a competitive spirit, increased knowledge of the origin of words, developing cognitive knowledge skills including the ability to handle pressure; and most importantly, these events help to boost a child’s confidence level as they gain self-assurance through learning to speak in public. We alternate each year between inviting Primary School Learners and High School learners. We have also hosted a boy's trip in light of International Day of The Boy Child which is celebrated every year on the16th May It focuses on boys and their well-being, their needs to feel happy, healthy, and valued within family and community. This year we focused on assisting young boys that are growing up in the community that we are operating in. The day comprised of topics / talks that that took place during a fishing session planned for that day and advise was shared with the boys by our trusted Male Figures we invited for the day after that a braai was held for the boys and the day ended goodie bags filled with cosmetics for the boys.
In line with our biggest focus, begin Education we host a career day specifically focusing on Grade 9 learners who are yet to choose subjects in line with the careers they “think” they are interested in. This day is set to assist the learners to look deep within themselves and assess one's strengths and weaknesses in order to make an informed decision when choosing subjects that will determine one's future. This day we invite individuals in different career paths to join us on the day to share their experiences and being in the specific career path & help the learners have a full insight of what to expect from the career they may be interested in.
We are currently trying to raise funds to be able to assist 67 matric learners to be able to apply for their CAO application for Mandela Day.
Our main project is called Happy Homework Helpers where we assist grade1-8 learners with their homework every Monday-Thursday in the afternoons. This project came about with the demand for homework assistance I got from my neighborhood as I'm a qualified educator, I then gather a group of qualified teachers and we excitedly started the project
What is your biggest success?
Yenzakahle Foundation was nominated on the 1KZN TV PRESTIGE AWARDS under the category of Charity of the Year in the year 2023 and we won the award. We have also won the AVBOB TROLLEY Competition in the year 2023 allowing us to have a library for the kids in our community.
What has been your biggest hurdle?
Ability to attain a facility that will allow the Happy Homework Helpers Program to operate beyond the working hours we use, this is because we are currently using a high school which restricts our ability to operate even on weekends and holidays. Ability to grow our NPO by providing technology programs to the learners.