AU School club Leadership Camp

On the 24th to the 26th of October 2014, AU held its first leadership camp with the executive members of its school clubs at Zeekoevlei ZEEP camp. Schools play a central role in the socialization of each learner as they tend to spend almost 60-70% of their day at school. However most of the schools in our townships are characterised by serious challenges such as:

One of the youth leaders wearing the AU Club T-shirt developed for the club members

 
• High level of school drop outs.
• Learners manifest lack of self-esteem, patriotism, leadership and no hope for future
• Lack of resources
• Vandalism and lack of discipline in schools to an extent that learners have no fear of assaulting and injuring colleagues or even teachers. Many schools have become a place where drugs, thugs and weapons move freely through the school gates
There is an outcry in the communities and government for the learners behavior change and to become more responsible. It is very difficult in such an environment that learning

Boat riding as team building for all the executive members.

and growth can take place.
In response to this outcry, Africa Unite started in March 2014 a new initiative in townships called AU School Clubs – with the slogan, “My School is My Community”.
The overall aim is to spark voluntarism, empower learners, give them confidence, believing that they can make a difference in their lives as well as in their communities. AU school Club is based on the belief that each Club needs to formulate their own vision, be locally anchored, and solve local problems mobilising the resources within the surrounding communities. The AU Clubs are led by the executive members with the following portfolio committees
• President
• Minister of Finance
• Minister of Information and Public Relations
• Minister of Sports, Culture and Entertainment
• Minister of Social development
• Minister of Environment
These school clubs have been established in the following schools targeting grade 8,9 and10:

Mountview High School executive members presenting their next year plan(2015)

• Spes Bona High(Athlone)
• Simunye High (Delft)
• Pakhama High(Philippi)
• Zonnebloem Nest High( Woodstock)
• Mountview High (Hanover Park)
The camp was held to empower the executive members so that they become efficient in the day to day running of the club at school, mobilise more learners at school level and make change in their respective communities. The camp gave all the executive members from different schools present to learn some leadership skills such as: team building exercises-understanding their roles and responsibilities-the characteristics of a good and bad leader- public speaking and environmental awareness. During the end of the camp, all the schools represented formulated their calendar of activities for next year (2015) which will enable them to reach the community and other learners in their schools

Executives and Africa Unite team pause for a group photo at Chapman Peak

After the environmental awareness sessions where the executives got in touch with nature and started to understand their role in protecting our planet and conserving our natural heritage, they received a certificate of environmental awareness from the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust (CTEET)
Africa Unite intends to implement these clubs in various schools in Cape Town and national.

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