One hour of computer training for a student from a poor neighborhood in South Africa

Computer courses

for unemployed young people

Many South African "townships" are characterized by high unemployment, which leads to dependency and violence. During the period of racial segregation in South Africa, many such housing projects (called "townships") were founded for specific ethnic groups, e.g. for the black African or Asian population. This institutionalized racism has long-lasting and often serious social consequences. Quite apart from that, the digital revolution is progressing just as much in South Africa as it is in Europe. This offers great opportunities, because computer access gives children access to knowledge and new opportunities regardless of their social background. While in Europe computers are now part of the basic equipment of a household, children and young people in South Africa's slums have no access to PCs. Comprehensive computer courses are therefore an important building block for changing the situation in the slums and giving young people in South Africa a perspective.

need

Computer education

activity

Computer courses for young people are offered

Measurable performance

Number of young people taking part in the courses

Result

Number of students who pass the International Computer License

Systemically relevant impact

Thanks to good computer skills, the young people of Walmer Township can get better jobs and thus enable themselves to escape poverty. The families of the young people benefit from this development and the level of education increases from generation to generation. The situation in Walmer Township will improve in the long term.

background

South Africa is a country of contrasts: the infrastructure in the cities is at European level, in schools in the richer parts of town, at universities and in many professions, using a computer is part of everyday life. In the slums of South Africa the situation is different: often there are only dusty dirt tracks instead of roads, no telephone or internet connection, often no electricity. The children and young people in the South African slums grow up without access to computers and the internet and are thus excluded from large parts of South African life from the start, while for the children of the wealthy middle and upper classes the computer has become a part of everyday life - just like here. Without computer skills, the children in the slums have no opportunity for a good education and good jobs.

The good deed

Comprehensive computer courses for children and young people in the Walmer Township can help to balance the infrastructural gap between South Africa's poor areas and the wealthy suburbs. The children and young people in the township learn how to use computers and can thus improve their school performance. They increase their chances of successfully completing a university course and finding a job that will enable them to escape poverty.

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