Of the many crises affecting South Africa, a rampantly high unemployment rate and one of the most unequal school systems in the world are among the top concerns for the country’s young people. In SA’s most rural areas, the pressing need for adequate education leaves thousands of individuals behind, and while some government initiatives have been launched in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and beyond to bolster skills in these communities with an eye on the future, these are usually few and far between.

It seems then that it is up to non-profit organisations like Khula Education to bridge the gap in the education system for these areas. Working with 21 schools in KZN, Khula supports 6 450 children and youth and 200 teachers through a host of programmes aimed at preparing learners for a future where they can take advantage of employment opportunities.

Khula launches digital hubs in rural KZN

Recently, Khula, partnered with technology solutions provider EOH on a series of digital skills initiatives for the benefit of the local community. This includes the setting up of digital skills and job readiness hubs in these communities. Hypertext spoke to the passionate people at Khula about the difference they are making for the people in these rural areas.

“With EOH’s help, we have been able to build the capacity, not just in staffing but also in equipment to establish two skills hubs. One in the Isandlwana area, and one in Rorke’s Drift area and we have now created a number of partnerships with organisations that allow us to deliver basic computer abilities, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc., as well as basic areas like CV writing, interview skills and how to navigate your work environment,” explains Deborah Huestice, director: Khula Education.

Groups of local KZN youth will join Khula educators at the two hubs over a period of five days, each day completing a course in a number of digital subjects and professional skills. “After the five days the youth can leave us with a set of competencies, and can then come back to practice those skills at any time as well,” she adds.

As to why Khula, which traditionally provides educational support and tutoring in the subjects of Mathematics Core and English to students is now dipping into digital skills training, Heustice says because it is simply expected.

“People have come to expect that when you enter the work environment you have a certain level of competency with IT. A familiarity with it. Unfortunately the schools in rural places across South Africa and in particularly in our schools, the children have very little exposure to ICT.”

She adds that, “Over the past three, four years Khula has made a deliberate attempt to bring WiFi to these schools. To bring technology, devices of various kinds from iPads to Android tablets to smart boards, and basic things like PowerPoint lessons. This has helped change the way the learners are exposed to what is out there – it is no longer dry information on a textbook, but more dynamic information.”

Edtech shines for learners among ancient battlefields

One of the partnerships that Khula has recently established in its quest to build these skills hub is with Brandon Wilson, a Cape Town-based edtech guru who made it his life’s pursuit to aid the country’s disadvantaged students with apps and digital platforms. Wilson is providing quality educational material to Khula via his EduHub app, and will be deploying his Stem Code Africa platform at Khula’s hubs in the near future to begin teaching the basics of coding and programming to youth in the local community.

Heustice says Wilson’s tools also make the teaching of digital skills more accessible especially to local teachers who may not know how to find the information for themselves. “It serves two communities, the educator and the students. We have been able to use the material in both those ways,” she says.

“With fields like AI and robotics leading the way in the industry, of course, the natural inclination is to create a platform that allows an awakening of the minds,” said Wilson, who was invited to KZN, to the Isandlwana area by Khula to attend the workshops, chat to Khula’s educators and meet some of the learners to gain perspective about the NPO’s activities.

“I saw the need that there must be some sort of bridging and this bridging was specifically through the MIT Scratch programme. I saw that this is a valuable way to awaken learners from the age of 10 years old to start with a visual-based learning capacity of what coding looks like, and gives you that impetus to further engage with coding,” he adds.

“The coming of [Wilson’s] EduHub was a great help,” explains Chris Magunda, a teacher at Khula. “It brought incoming resources that most of the learners were not accessing. We are getting this material and using it for our learners. It gives us a variety of approaches in the class room.”

“It is a good thing for our learners in the rural areas, because they can now compete with learners in more urban areas, those that are getting more exposure to technology.” Magunda says that he feels very satisfied that Khula is making a difference in the community.

“We can actually see the change and feel it because we are part of the community.”

“We’ve had really positive feedback from our workshops,” says Nosipho Sithole, skills manager at Khula, about how the local community has reacted to the digital hubs.

“We have a list of 400-odd young people that have registered in the area we work in. Either young people that have yet to find work, or they have finished Matric and haven’t studied further, or they are still struggling to figure out which area they want to work in. And some have been applying and applying for a while and have yet to find any work,” she adds.

“The experience has been really positive, and so far we have trained over 160 in groups of about 15 people and this is deliberate so that we are able to connect with the young people, and also so we can focus on a little bit of one-on-one where they can ask questions.”

Sithole explains that the digital skills workshops are given in a blended learning approach, with both online content and through the use of a facilitator from the local area in KZN who will take them through the content and give them explanations. She also says that Khula is looking to connect some of the workshop graduates with employment opportunities, and even if they aren’t permanent, at least they allow some young people a foot through the door.

Khula has plans and the future looks bright

As for EOH, the company believes that learning digital skills is a way for individuals to eventually escape the cycle of poverty, and to ensure valuable participation in South Africa’s economy. EOH is also helping Khula with its future missions.

More courses are on the horizon for Khula’s workshops confirms Heustice. These will issue forth from partnerships with Paladin, and Activate Academy, among others. “A new component will be adding in some capacity for small business skill development for local business people,” says Heustice, adding that another big development will be the creation of a physical ICT building as Khula is currently using a community hall to host the digital skills workshops.

“We are building our own hub for ICT, and right next to that we are building a vocational skills hub so that people who are not necessarily equipped to go to university will have the opportunity to learn practical skills like plumbing, building and welding and the like.”

Heustice says that Khula feels it has a huge responsibility to the local community, around the famous historical battlefields of KZN formed during a crucial moment in the Anglo-Zulu war. She says Khula has to earn the community’s trust.

“It is a joy to innovate and offer opportunities that we know are going to benefit, and to do that in partnership with the schools and never to feel like we are overburdening and pushing our agenda. For us it is a real privilege and a joy to work with this community, because it means we’re making a real difference and substantial change, and we can see that happening term on term and year on year.”

Khula advertises its workshops for the local community at locations like spaza shops. All people are welcome, whether they have just finished matric, or still busy, or simply struggling to find a job. Its courses are completely free of charge.

[Image – Khula Education]