Providing access to intervention support for rural children with cerebral palsy
Although there aren’t reliable statistics about how many children have cerebral palsy (CP) in South Africa, figures from well-resourced settings suggest between 2-3 babies per 1000 live births will have CP (Himmelmann et al., 2010; Kragelow-Mann et al., 2009). Because of inadequate obstetrical and neonatal care, particularly in rural poor areas in South Africa, the […]
Developing literacy through home visiting programmes: The case of the Family in Focus (FIF) programme
The value of early childhood development (ECD) programmes for young children is now generally accepted. However the situation of ECD in South Africa is that the vast majority of poor children are not exposed to ECD programmes due to financial constraints or to an absence of programmes in communities – only half of 3-4 year […]
Learning through Doing: Measuring leadership development
enke: Make Your Mark’s Youth Leadership Initiative enke: Make your Mark is a youth leadership and social innovation initiative that aims to reduce inequality by connecting young South Africans across social divides, equipping them to lead, and inspiring them to take action. Our theory of change is that if we can connect, equip and inspire […]
Reflecting on the Network Action Group Future Leaders Programme – a model for building social capital in poor communities
Social capital: a brief background In the last two decades, the concept of social capital has filtered into the field of development practice. No one single definition captures what is meant by social capital – some describe social capital as being about the resources (both actual and virtual) that are associated with individuals and groups. […]
Scaling up Rural Youth Development
The challenges of growing up in rural Limpopo Children and youth between the ages of 0-29 constitute the highest percentage of the population in Limpopo (3.7 mil of a total of total population of 5.5 mil1) and are also the most vulnerable. Hundreds of youth matriculate each year with very poor education results who have […]
Helping young people in South Africa’s townships succeed against the odds
Many young South Africans are born into a world of exclusion and deprivation in South Africa’s townships, and the cards are firmly stacked against their chances of escaping this life of poverty. From an early age, their prospects are hampered by poor-quality schools that offer low curriculum coverage. And outside of school, poor students often […]
Developing health care professionals for rural areas
The Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF) exists to address the shortages of qualified health care staff at rural hospitals and to improve health care delivery to the local indigent population. This is achieved through the identification, training and support of rural youth to become qualified health care professionals, who in return are required to work […]
