Cape Town, 30 Aug 2016
After six-month long transformation process and countless hours of hard work, the students of Tlhatlogang Secondary School and the broader youth community of Soweto can enjoy the fruits of their labours in the form of a newly revamped arts and culture centre at their school.
Twenty Grade 11 pupils from Tlhatlogang Secondary School set out to make a difference for the benefit of the greater community and their fellow youth by transforming the school's current arts and culture centre.
The old arts and culture centre at the school was neglected and in desperate need for a revamp. As a result, the students were not able to tap the intended benefit and express their creativity in a safe space dedicated to the arts.
Through sheer ingenuity and creativity, these young individuals transformed old desks into a stage whereupon they can perform. The bland walls were treated with a lick of paint to brighten up the room and help to get creative juices flowing.
The project was carried out as part of the Youth4Change Movement, a community development initiative conceptualised by WNS South Africa. The aim of the Youth4Change Movement is to help young South Africans bring about a positive change within their own school or community, for their own peers and through their own efforts.
Thus, the youth were ultimately responsible for overall project implementation, conceptualising and promoting fundraising activities, seeking sponsorship, and for physically renovating the Tlhatlogang Arts and Culture Centre.
WNS South Africa, through the WNS Cares Foundation, invested in the project by providing the youth with starter capital and a group of employee volunteers to act as mentors. Additional leadership development and guidance was provided to the youth by Khulisa Social Solutions, a non-profit organisation WNS had selected to partner with for the initiative.
"It is remarkable to see how the youth, despite their impoverished circumstances, have taken the initiative to bring about a positive change not only for themselves, but also for their peers," Megan Meredith, Corporate Social Investment Manager for WNS South Africa, says.
"The newly revamped Tlhatlogang Arts and Culture Centre will remain a haven for creativity and will hopefully be the breeding ground for our nation's next great performers and artists," she concludes.
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