The Afterschool programme was established in 1996. Between 140 – 200 learners come to the centre, on weekday afternoons between Monday and Thursday, directly from their various schools, for two hours of supervised homework. They are assisted by eight qualified teachers, who also offer personalized help to learners battling with areas of study. In addition, the children are given a nutritious meal. For many, it is the only hot meal they get during the day. The programme has reaped rich rewards in a community where children face many challenges. Reports indicate that these children have attained better results at school.
Ninety One’s partnership with the JL Zwane Community Centre in Gugulethu, a township in Cape Town, dates back to 2003, when the centre was housed in six freight containers and bursting at the seams. Along with other corporate sponsors, we provided the means to build the community centre. Today, more than two decades later, the centre serves the needs of an entire community, providing a wide range of services including education, adult literacy and HIV/Aids counselling and care. Both at corporate and staff level, Ninety One remains committed to contributing to JL Zwane (now known as Rainbow Education and Skills Development), albeit our support has evolved to specifically cover assistance with mathematics for the (Grade 4- 7) 220 learners who visit the centre. In 2024, we have partnered with a hybrid platform that innovatively delivers Mathematics lessons. We also enhanced the technology at the centre to create a conducive environment for the intervention.
The Visual Arts program runs weekly and is well attended by over 30 learners. 2 volunteer artists teach children a formal curriculum covering an understanding different techniques, textures, and colours but also emphasising enjoyment and creativity rather than striving to do art ‘correctly’’. There have also been discussions about the broader impact of visual art and value to particular forms of employment. The first exhibition of the children’s art was launched in March 2022.
The Computer Literacy project’ is offered to children attending Grade 7. Many children who live in the area do not have access to computers and begin their secondary school career at a disadvantage. This programme therefore helps learners to acquire basic computer literacy and confidence to use computers & the internet. The Project is led by Mr Sandile Mbanjwa who is a Rainbow School Alumna.
Women forPlumbing SinceNovember 2020, the team at the J.L. Zwane Centre now currently known as RainbowEducation Skills has partnered withCobra Plumbing to introduce plumbing skills to local community members. Thetopics have includedfixing a cistern system, toilets, leaking taps and broken pipes. Each sessionprovides some theory and some practical work. The objective of these sessionshas been to teach people how to manage their own home plumbing safely and, forthose interested, to help with plumbing in their neighbourhood. In March 2021,a special women’s day workshop was coordinated at the Centre and attended by 50women, mainly unemployed. Our administrator Nokubonga Mepeni was instrumentalin coordinating the event and creating media reports for the newspapers involved.
To see one of the articles,please see follow this link.
In August 2021, the women who had completedthe six workshops received their certificates in a ceremony held at the CobraOffices in Cape Town, attended by the 'Women for Plumbing Association' and arepresentative from the Department of Water and Sanitation. Throughout thistime, a mentorship programme was established with a local plumber who providedon-site practical experience. The J.L. Zwane Centre(as it was known then) is now in discussions with Government andCobra plumbing to set up a forum in Gugulethu which would promote plumbing forwomen and water preservation.
Ekse LIVE (International Women's Day inGugulethu) - YouTube
Future InterventionsThe J.L. Zwane Centre would like toexpand this programme and initiate a second group of fifty women in October2021. In addition, three local women plumbers have been introduced to theproject and would like to become facilitators of the training team. In thisway, the project would support local women in plumbing skills and facilitationskills. Following this training andmentorship, the J.L. Zwane team would try to access grants or scholarships forthose who would like to formalise this training into a diploma. With thisintention, the J.L. Zwane team would need to raise support for the mentorshipprogramme. In addition, the Centre would like to purchase some tools to supportthese women in their new venture.
It is often said in South Africa that, based on the constitution, every child has a right to have access to education. In a community like Gugulethu where we are based as an organisation, we find out that not every parent can afford to send a child to school. One of the contributing factors to this is a lack of food security within families and no child can learn effectively on an empty stomach.
Here at Rainbow, we seek to protect the dignity of a child by providing a nutritious meal to every child. On a daily basis we provide a meal to approximately 100 learners from Monday to Friday, during the school calendar days. This helps a great deal as a child concentrates better and participates better during the extra school classes.
For over 28 years, the Rainbow After-School Study Programme has been running. We are thankful to Mr Mzoli Ngcauzele, a well-known business man and owner of Mzoli’s Butchery in Gugulethu, for the consistent support of providing meat for the meals, as well as the owner of Morester Farm, Mr Naas Van Der Merwe, for providing 12 bags of potatoes and 3 bags of onions on a weekly basis.