category
Education & Research
address
Masiphumelele, Cape Town, 7975, South Africa
We help the community of Masiphumelele by providing opportunity through education.
How can you help?
Help Masicorp by spending 67 minutes at our ECD centres for Mandela Day.
Help Masicorp by donating kitchen equipment and appliances for our ECD programme.
More about Masicorp
Masicorp assists the Masiphumelele community by offering education programmes, to support residents uplift themselves out of poverty. There are approximately 40 000 people living in the township, still disadvantaged by the legacy of apartheid spatial planning. Many shack-dwellers live in poverty and struggle with daily issues of overcrowding, fires or floods, lack of basic services and sanitation, crime, and unemployment. We believe that by reaching children ages 0-6 and raising the standard of early childhood education in the community, a firm foundation will be laid for future learning and children will start their primary school career with the best possible chance to succeed. There are an estimated 6000 pre-school age children in the area, many of whom have no form of schooling. Many attend backyard shack crèches, run by owners with no formal training, skills or educational materials. Masicorp endeavours to reach as many of these children as possible, by upskilling the crèche owners and providing the skills needed to properly educate the children in their care. Ukhanyo Primary School is the only primary school in Masiphumelele. Originally built for 450 children, it now caters for nearly 2000. As an under-resourced, no-fee paying school, the classes are overcrowded. Teachers struggle to provide the quality of education needed for children to thrive so many children are left behind. Masicorp runs English, Maths and Science learning labs at the school with the aim to model effective teaching methods and classroom instruction to the teachers. Masicorp also runs a successful school and community sports programmes, both of which also focus on life skills and providing an outlet and support network for the youth taking part - much needed in this community plagued by high youth unemployment, substance abuse and crime. Our various adult skills training programmes focus on providing training in sewing and computers - with the aim to give residents the best chance at finding employment or starting their own business.
