|
[Up]
| |
This is a brief description of the service,
please visit their web site for
more information.
The word 'khulula' means emancipation in Zulu. Kulula Life Skills
Centre is situated on a farm in the Pretoria district in the northern part
of South Africa.
Kulula teaches self employment skills and personal skills to girls in
residence. Young females (14 to 20) are referred to Kulula from agencies
working with the girl child on the street in the inner cities of Southern
Africa.
The girls have, typically, lost a lot of schooling during their time on the
streets and do not have enough time left before they are 18 years-old to acquire
enough education to see them into life.
Kulula takes the alternative route -- teaching self employment and
personal skills (from welding and horticulture to cooking and conversation
and conflict resolution, etc) that will help these disadvantaged young
women to have hope for a future other than in prostitution or begging.
Key Benefits for Clients
- Although recognized and registered with the local authorities Kulula
works alongside and not within the slowing constraints of the social
welfare system. Kulula can offer clients any sort of 'term'
conditioned help. Anything from a few weeks to two years--and
she can learn something valuable in that time.
- The material standards at Kulula are maintained on a very low
level--equivalent to the norm of the country. South Africa is a
country steeped in contrast. While we have 40% unemployment we also
have 80% of our population younger than 21 years-old, and 25% under
the breadline--but we have the largest and most modern cities,
shopping centres, medical clinics, nuclear facilities, hi-tech
armament, gold and diamond and uranium and platinum. But...the
average person in the country lives a typical African lifestyle that
is compared to total squalour in the 1st world. Kulula's
facilities makes it possible for clients to go away and, at least,
duplicate the lifestyle they got used to at the centre.
- Academic schooling is at best a form of preparation for college or
university--it does nothing much for the person who needs to get a job
at age 17. Kulula's efforts to help children learn life skills,
personal skills, job skills and self employment skills is the better
alternative for someone who will not be studying medicine, law or an
MBA.
Key Benefits for Society
- Kulula provides a full range of services to every 20 children at the cost
of what only one corporate manager earns in a month.
- Kulula helps people to help themselves--to not have to look to crime,
prostitution, begging or having strings of babies in the hope of landing a
husband--in short, we help young women have hope for a future.
Capabilities
- Large Capacity
- Kulula has a current capacity for 60 children in its village but
there is enough space to grow about 400%.
- Experience
- Kulula was run as a pilot project with only 5 to 10 girls at a time
for more than two years before it was formalised. During the
pilot phase many mistakes were made and many new innovative ways of
caring were discovered and implemented. We believe we will
continue to make new, yet unexplored, mistakes and then find new
innovative solutions. We have the experience to grow into the
250 person children's village that our members envision.
|
