AFRIKA TIKKUN NPC – Who We Are

Overview

Afrika Tikkun is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the reduction of youth unemployment in South Africa by tackling the socio-economic drivers that make it difficult for young people to access the economy. It was founded in 1994 with the intention to make a difference in the South African economy by developing and uplifting young people living in underprivileged communities.

Our head office is in Johannesburg and we are also represented through satellite offices in the UK, US and Australia.

Our strategic intent

We aim to reduce unemployment by empowering young people in the context of the family. Which is why, we focus is on education, personal development, career development, nutrition, health, skills development, and ultimately work placement. This approach is our Cradle-to-Career 360•model.

Community Centres

With an investment of five (5) community resource centres in disadvantaged communities; we are able to afford young people the opportunity to benefit from our Cradle to Career 360• model and programmes. The community centres are in Orange Farm; Alexandra; Diepsloot and Braampark (inner-city Johannesburg) Gauteng and Mfuleni in the Western Cape.

Our operating model

The Cradle-to-Career 360• model is our commitment to supporting young people from infancy into adulthood and employment so that that they become economically productive. The model works from the context of family to provide services to young people from birth, through school-going age and into the world of work.

The Cradle-to-Career 360• model is implemented through 3 core programmes, each focused on the specific developmental and age appropriate needs of young people from 2 years old through to early adulthood up to age 29.

Through cross-referrals between programmes, we ensure the holistic development of young people by providing them with what they need to emerge as adults who can effectively access the economy. The model sets the foundation for all our core programmes and is designed in a way that allows us to provide development interventions that are not only holistic, but also longitudinal.

Beyond our focus on young people, Afrika Tikkun has a positive impact on the broader community as a whole. Approximately 85% of our employees are from the communities surrounding the centres. This therefore means that many households from these communities are sustained by the income from Afrika Tikkun.

Our core programmes

In order to provide services and interventions that support young people from Cradle to Career, Afrika Tikkun has three core programmes, each focused on the specific developmental and age-appropriate needs of children and youth. These are:

1. Early Childhood Development: This is focussed on age appropriate development and school readiness milestones for children aged 2 to 6 years.
2. Child & Youth Development: This is an after-school programme for young people from Grade 1 to Grade 12, and provides a series of activities for education, career, leadership and personal development.
3. Career Development Programme: This provides career guidance, job readiness training, specialised training (Retail, Hospitality & ITC), job placement and bursaries for further learning. This is targeted at young people with a matric or equivalent between the ages of 19-29 years.

Support programmes

As an integral part of the Cradle-to-Career 360• model, the core programmes are augmented by cross-cutting Support Services, which include:

4. Primary Health Care: Providing basic healthcare services to young people and their families
5. Family Support: Providing Psychological and family support services to address the young person’s needs within the context of their family circumstances.
6. Nutritional & Food: Providing young people with daily meals and where required (as verified by our Social Worker) monthly food parcels, emergency relief and school lunch boxes.
7. Empowerment: Providing young people and their families with the tools and support to actively pursue their human rights as agents of change within their homes, community and country across all our core programmes.

Afrika Tikkun has over 12, 000 registered beneficiaries every year who each receive a comprehensive set of services designed to propel them into success.