Mission Statement
SIZISA’s aim is to give everyone in South Africa an equal start to quality education. We equip learning institutions with the tools they need to meet their main objective. We find high-quality teaching resources and support available in Europe, and adapt those resources effectively for the South African context. We focus on one learning institution at a time to make the most of our funding and resources to effectively upskill teachers, providing them with the support they need.
How do we make a lasting Impact in the education sector in South Africa?
SIZISA partners with leading institutions and organisations to provide volunteers with vital skills, resources and, where appropriate, funding.
Being at school during Apartheid and at the beginning of South Africa’s democracy, the Founder of SIZISA, Carl Davis, has had first-hand experience of the great gap of learning areas in education, being classified as a ‘person of colour’ or ‘mixed race’ (in the South African context, classified as ‘coloured’). He was in a segregated school until schools de-segregated and went to a previously ‘whites only’ school in 1994.
To give some background of the history of South African schools…
Each race group was put into their own schools. It goes without saying that the best schools, in all respects, were for white students only. Therefore, the quality of education in schools of colour were set up to keep people of colour in lower-paying jobs such as labourers on farms, domestic workers, etc. If you would like to hear more about Carl’s background, visit our website here.
Carl, therefore, is very passionate about quality education in South Africa. Sizisa Ukhanyo (Xhosa for ‘we bring light’), also known as SIZISA, started as an organisation offering skilled volunteers opportunities to support various needs in the welfare, charity and education sector in Cape Town. As SIZISA developed, we began focusing on our skills of networking and making use of the resources we have, which is the infrastructure of schools and universities. SIZISA is currently based in Denmark to better achieve our mission; giving presentations to education institutions in Denmark to create an interest in South Africa.
How do we achieve our mission?
Currently based in Denmark, SIZISA is developing a network of learning institutions in the country. Carl is regularly invited to give presentations to students about his experiences growing up during the Apartheid and post-Apartheid eras. These presentations enable Carl to raise awareness of the current issues the South African education system is facing. He can also then provide students with opportunities to get involved practically or through financial donations (if you would like to join this cause by donating, please click here).
Promoting diversity and improving cross-cultural communication
SIZISA promotes diversity among students by enabling schools in Cape Town to interact with schools in Europe via interactive Skype/zoom sessions. For example, by having joint classes and opening discussion about popular South African books such as Long Walk to Freedom or Born A Crime, students in Denmark can appreciate their system of free, quality education.
We also help improve cross-cultural understanding by explaining to students the differences between school systems in South Africa and those in Europe, mainly Denmark. Carl’s presentations on South Africa help European students gain understanding of other cultures, encourage mutual respect for differences between cultures, and explain the different barriers students in other parts of the world have faced and are still facing today.
We believe that global competence (the disposition and capacity to understand and act on issues of global significance) plays an essential part in developing a healthy and diverse society.
We also believe that the most effective way to achieve our mission is to target one learning institution at a time to optimise the use of our resources and minimise costs.
We do the necessary problem analysis to make sure the learning institution we assist will eventually be correctly equipped to maintain the areas of improvement we established during our time working alongside them. In the last 10 years SIZISA placed various students in different internships in Cape Town, connecting with a wide network of charities, schools and welfare organisations to understand which areas were most in need of SIZISA’s assistance.
Please feel free to send us an email if you’d like to learn more about our project and activities.
