On Friday, 21 February, Keiskamma Music Academy saw six of its senior students on their way to Cape Town for Enke's 2014 Trailblazer Celebration Event (http://www.enke.co.za/articles/). Shown above are ZimkhithaNompunga, AviweNkani, SimamkeleMaxontana, Thabo Nogoxo, SipheloMvaphantsi, and MihleCuka just before they hit the road.
The Celebration is a one-day event where Trailblazers reunite to celebrate one other’s achievements and impact made through Community Action Projects (CAPs). The Celebration Event is also an important opportunity for Trailblazers to encourage each other as they continue to serve as leaders in their communities and schools. Through their hard work over a six-month project period, all six of Keiskamma Music Academy's participating students qualified to attend.
Zimkhitha noted a shortage of textbooks in her community of Hamburg, and sought to address this issue by providing access to Maths textbooks in an after-school Maths club. At the start of her CAP, she aimed to provide copies of sections in relevant textbooks to ensure that everyone had access to the resource.
SimamkeleMaxontana sought to help young women in her community who were falling pregnant at an early age and dropping out of school. Organizing regular meetings of a Girls' Club for peers, Sima provided information about sexual reproduction and family planning, and also stimulated debate where there was none before.
For their CAP, AviweNkani, SipheloMvaphantsi, and Thabo Ngoxo teamed up to teach instrumental music in rural areas. Their initiative is motivated by the fact that children in rural areas don't get the chance to learn how to play musical instruments. The three succeeded in establishing teaching venues in the township of Lovers' Twist and also received a generous donation of recorders for their project from Yamaha.
MihleCuka's CAP was one of eighteen this year qualified to receive financial assistance as first-round winners of the Enke Incubator Fund. Mihle saw a need to mobilize community members and municipality representatives to restore and reinstate a ruined and abandoned road within his village in Hamburg. He hoped to unify the people in his community, both young and old, to come together and take responsibility for the challenges the community is facing.
This year, Keiskamma Music Academy hopes to nominate another six students for Enke, forwarding fresh initiatives to aid the community of Hamburg. Congratulations to the newestEnke graduating class! May you continue to affect a positive change in the lives of those around you.
