The Valued Citizens Initiative, in partnership with the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation, will be certifying successful candidates who enrolled in the Bridging for Life programme two years ago. The event will take place at Forte High School, in Dobsonville, Soweto, this Friday, 14 October 2011, from 11am to 2pm.
The partnership rolled out the Bridging for Life programme, endorsed by the Department of Higher Education and Training, within six public high schools in rural and township communities from three provinces, namely Gauteng - SG Mafaesa and Forte' Secondary Schools; Free State - Mohato and Thalabodiba Secondary Schools, and Limpopo - Bokamoso and Mphengwa Secondary Schools, with the objective of providing a platform for 300 committed and dedicated grade 11 learners and post-matriculants to acquire necessary skills that will enable them to adapt to life after matric completion.
Of 300 candidates initially taking part in the programme, a total of 204 Bridging for Life participants have successfully completed the programme, and will take centre stage to be honoured for their commitment and drive to have reached the end of the 'bridge'. Moreover, we are proud of another success story, as from 93 hopeless post-matriculants, 33 (35%) candidates focused, and with determination, went to tertiary institutions or are employed after 19 months with the partnership's support.
The programme content has been imparted through 14 workshops on important life skills, ranging from emotional intelligence, effective communication, self-leadership and management, career development and citizenship, which further equipped learners with the self-confidence they need to stand firmly as Valued Citizens to reach their goals in life.
“We would be delighted to reach our goal of having a minimum of 65% of our beneficiaries acquiring tertiary entrance or taking part in learnership programmes. At the end, to create employment, we need to develop people with the resilience to be proactive towards their life's challenges, and be ethical to stand for values such as trust, accountability and openness, which are cornerstones in the corporate world,” said Jerry Thulare, Programme Co-ordinator.
“In today's competitive world, life skills are crucial, and this programme will definitely help support these students from South Africa as they go out into the working world. Both Alcatel-Lucent South Africa and Alcatel-Lucent's Foundation are honoured to be part of such a valuable programme. We wish all these students the best for their future. Remember to follow your dreams, and anything is possible when you set your heart on it,” said Chad Baker, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent for South and East Africa.
“The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation's prime mission is to respond to today's global challenge of digital inclusion and sustainability. Our focus is on providing innovative programmes enabling youth from emerging countries such as South Africa to gain access to education and life skills programmes. On behalf of the Foundation, it is our great pleasure to see that, together with Valued Citizens, we can make digital literacy a reality for the youth of South Africa,” said Bishalakhi Ghosh, Director of Alcatel-Lucent Foundation.
For further information, please contact - Carole Podetti Ngono - Founder and MD of Valued Citizens Initiative - 011 781 9462 or 082 441 9154, or Mduduzi Ndidi - PR/Media Officer of Valued Citizens Initiative - 071 220 9135.
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