How we Do it:

H&T Leadership School Centers

2010 saw the birth of H&T after-school centers. In 2009 the H&T mentorship model had phenomenal success. 99% of the H&T pupils passed their various grades at the different schools. This is however only a small reflection of what is really happening.

Testimonials from principles, teachers and parents confirm that the H&T children are indeed becoming the leaders/examples we anticipated. They pay more attention in class, they partake more, are more respectful at school and home, etc. If this is possible when spending 20 minutes per week with a child, can you imagine what’s possible when you spend 4 – 5 hours per day with these children? Just imagine.

The centers run from 12H00 – 17H00 in the afternoon at the school premises. The total time is divided into 30 minute sessions consisting of various activities. These activities include the following:
* A lunch session
* Games
* Homework
* Sport
* H&T life skills lesson
* Others activities (please read below what this includes)

A unique solution & opportunity

Job creation is a major challenge in South Africa and H&T have a unique solution. The after-school centers employ coaches from the local communities to help the children with their homework, the life skills transfer and various other activities. These coaches are previous year matriculants who are currently unemployed. To fulfill this role they are trained as life skills coaches. In addition to this they also have the opportunity to be trained as soccer coaches by qualified TREC Ambassador in Sport personnel and gain a recognized qualification as soccer coach. This way they earn a great recognized qualification, valuable experience and the opportunity to build a reference on their CV.

The other activities

Part of these activities includes people from various professions, who volunteer time, visiting the children. This includes doctors, dentists, psychologists, policemen, optometrists, accountants, community workers, etc. These people not only visit to teach the children on what their profession involves, but also to inspire the children to dream bigger dreams.

Of course they also fulfill a practical role. Often children in poorer communities don’t get to visit a doctor/dentist (for example) other than when they are sick. These professionals get time to do basic checkups, identify possible problems and administer treatment early on.

Prevention centers

The H&T leadership centers are true prevention centers. Many of the children in poorer communities have nobody to help them with their homework; often their own parents are not schooled. Something as basic as this helps build a child’s morale, opens up more and better opportunities and makes it possible to qualify yourself for a higher education. We don’t think anybody needs further explanation regarding the benefits of a better education.

Furthermore the centers provide a safe environment to communicate with children about HIV/AIDS, crime and other challenges they will face in their environment. As experience taught us, these children are highly susceptible to influence – both negative and positive. Spending this much time with the children will ensure that they receive the correct information and as much positive influence as possible.

Benefits of the leadership school centers include:

* Job creation
* More time spent with children means more and better life skills transfer
* Improved passing rates for schools
* More children fed
* Children receives wider exposure
* Safe environment for the children after school

Staff requirements:

The Leadership School Centers create 109 job - 2 Overseers, 11 Mentors, 67 Coaches (Matriculates) and a 29 member Food Team. Based on 1 000 Young Leaders this far superior program costs R8.25 p/d or R247.50 p/m.