Despite the cold rainy weather, Kasi Fundi filled up Molokoane Street in Orlando East with young people as it hosted its Education Empowers Symposium dialogue over the weekend.
ALSO READ: Ekuphumeleleni takes delivery of new library
The initiative was aimed at aligning learners with the right career paths. It featured a panel that included young professionals across different fields of study including accounting, public relations, digital marketing, business and engineering.
Founder, 31 year-old English teacher, Thandeka Thusi, who regularly hosts free tutoring lessons at her home, said she wants the session to empower young people to write their own life story and change the narrative.
“The main reason we are here is because of the increase in the dropout rate which has tripled due to Covid19.
“We are trying to encourage learners to stick to school and show them examples of people who are from similar backgrounds to them who have overcome the same challenges,” she said.
Thusi said that empowering young people through education was her great passion and the main reason she started the tutoring programme.
ALSO READ: Educating Dobsonvile leaners about the past
“We hope after the event they will have a different perspective of the study options and a clearer direction of where they see themselves. I believe ours is to inspire and show them that it is possible,” she said.
Taking to the floor to share her personal story of financial challenges in her family, Thusi recalled the anguish at the possibility of not furthering her studies when her parents both lost their jobs during her matric year and could not pay off her school fees.
“My story is a lot similar to that of my young people in the township.
Barriers to accessing education are real,” she said.
“My grandmother used her last money to help me register and unfortunately that was all she had. In my first year I worked a full time job as a student trying to ensure that my fees were paid.
ALSO READ: Digitising learning in Soweto schools
“I remember in my second year I had to knock on a lot of doors asking for financial aid. Essentially the funding came from different places literally each year,” she recalled.
Thusi recently completed her Master’s degree in education and currently tutors over 6 learners on Saturdays where she caters to both primary and high school learners.
She shared that she hopes to expand her programme to other parts of Soweto.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
