Masifunde
Masifunde Bildungsförderung is a non-profit organization that has set itself the task of supporting socially disadvantaged children from South African townships through comprehensive educational programs. Financed by donations from Germany, numerous educational programs for financially disadvantaged children are offered in a township in Port Elizabeth .
Work in South Africa
Masifunde's work in South Africa is currently still focused on the Walmer Township in Port Elizabeth . The Walmer Township is a poor district where between 50,000 and 100,000 people live on a few square kilometers, whose everyday life is in many cases characterized by poverty, unemployment, alcohol abuse and HIV / AIDS.
Programs South Africa
Masifunde pursues a comprehensive educational approach, which, in addition to school support, also aims at the personal development of the children it supports, which should have positive effects on their entire environment (multiplier approach). Masifunde's educational offerings include:
Educational sponsorships
Masifunde maintains educational sponsorships for gifted but socially disadvantaged children from Walmer Township. A total of 46 children between the ages of five and nineteen are currently receiving extensive support through schooling in first-class, formerly all-white schools outside the township.
An educational sponsorship covers all costs incurred through attending school (school fees, school uniforms, material costs, transport to school, etc.). In addition to material support, the children are also supported by daily homework supervision (HomeworkClub) .
The sponsored children were selected based on the following criteria:
- Talent, motivation and personality of the child (as far as can be assessed at a young age)
- Need of the child
- Framework conditions and existence of a responsible contact person.
"Learn4Life!"
“Learn4Life!” Is an extracurricular support program and was initiated by Masifunde in mid-2006. A total of around 250 children are currently taking part. It aims at the long-term training of multipliers and reinforcement of the multiplier effects between the participating children and young people, as well as the integration of the Masifunde sponsored children in their social environment.
"Learn4Life!" Consists of three components:
- weekly group lessons
- monthly excursions or weekend workshops
- ten day summer leisure
In addition to classic leisure activities with sports, games and works, the individual components focus primarily on HIV / AIDS, alcohol and drug education and life skills training. The latter aims to convey values, develop personality, art and culture and promote fundamental skills that are important for life.
structure
Team in South Africa
The coordination of the programs on site is in the hands of a multi-cultural team. German volunteers help communicate with Germany.
- There is a partnership with Nelson Mandela University . A college group represents Masifunde on campus and international students support Masifunde's educational programs on a voluntary basis.
- The homework supervision is coordinated by a teacher.
- The administration of finances in South Africa is carried out by an independent finance professional.
Team in Germany
Masifunde was founded in January 2005 by young adults mainly from the Mainz region. Former Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries is the patron of the association . A network of over 45 active schoolchildren, students and young professionals now works for Masifunde. The employees work purely on a voluntary basis and are distributed across Germany.
The association is divided into the areas of project support, fundraising, finances, events, sponsorship and member support, public relations and personnel. Each area is headed on a voluntary basis by a department manager who coordinates one or more independent small groups. In a regular team meeting, all volunteers exchange ideas, report on their work in the small groups and agree on plans and activities for the following weeks. The divisional heads meet every two months as a management team. After prior consultation with the team in South Africa, the strategic decisions are made here.
Prices
Masifunde has already received several prestigious awards in its young history. These include:
Marion Dönhoff Award 2008
As the highest award in the association's history to date, Masifunde won the “ Marion Dönhoff Prize for International Understanding and Reconciliation” endowed with 10,000 euros in 2008 . "In a population that is still disadvantaged, sustainable development aid is provided through education" ( Theo Sommer ).
Finalist in the federal startsocial competition
Based on the criteria of effectiveness, sustainability, efficiency and transferability, Masifunde was selected from over 500 associations in 2006 as one of the 25 best non-profit organizations in Germany.
"Selected location in the land of ideas"
As part of the event series “ 365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas ”, which is jointly carried out by the location initiative “Germany - Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank, the association received the award “Selected Landmark in the Land of Ideas ” in 2008.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Christian Selz: Port Elizabeth: Tour through the townships. In: Zeit Online. June 20, 2010, accessed November 5, 2013 .
- ↑ http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/26469.php
- ↑ http://www.zeit-verlagsgruppe.de/presse/2008/10/egon-bahr-erhalt-den-marion-donhoff-preis-2008 /
- ↑ http://waisenkind.de/archiv/presse/Stipendiaten_Top25_2006.pdf
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
