Yale College Challenge South Africa Charities Raise Over £100,000

Yale College’s Challenge South Africa project has raised over £100,000 for deprived youngsters in South Africa.

Self-funded and entirely dependent on fundraising through planning and management of students’ own local charitable events, the project has raised over £100,000 since June 2009.

The programme was developed to enhance the learners’ awareness of equality and diversity on an international level.

The project aims to enable students from across Yale College to undertake a life changing experience in a culturally diverse international city.

Opening up opportunities for learning to more youngsters from right across the region – Yale College also links closely with Wrexham primary schools and communities to highlight to them the often bitter prospects of young people in one of the most deprived communities in the world.  A shared approach gives even more opportunities for Wrexham youngsters to help, support and give more to their South African counterparts.

Principal Jasbir Dhesi of Yale College said: “Yale’s Challenge South Africa project demonstrates our commitment to make a difference.  The shared teaching and learning opportunities are infinite for all participants”.

From its onset, Challenge South Africa has taken a cross-section of groups of learners from Yale College to one of the poorest townships, Manenberg in Cape Town, South Africa.  Yale students work on carefully planned and agreed topics with learners in primary and secondary schools and the local community in South Africa.  .

This year the college’s Public Service student team were given “personal well-being” as a topic to develop for their visit to South Africa.  Manenberg High School has significant challenges relating to gang culture and violence and the Yale team’s challenge had to take their South African counterparts very different culture into account.  The Public Services learners developed first aid courses, Student Assistance Programmes and personal safety training to undertake in the South African schools.