Background

Southern Africa Environment Project (SAEP) was founded in 1994 in the US, but has been based in Cape Town since its establishment. Over the last nine years, SAEP has initiated a number of projects in the areas of environment and sustainable development in South Africa, but has focussed in the last five years on education and leadership development and environmental improvement in the Cape Town township of Philippi. SAEP's work has been done for the most part through volunteers from abroad -- young and old -- from a variety of occupations and disciplines. Between 1997 and 2003, SAEP has hosted interns from a number of top universities around the world, including Oxford (including four Rhodes Scholars), Cambridge, Edinburgh, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, Duke, Dartmouth, and Oberlin. Our early efforts have focussed on Sinethemba Senior Secondary School in Philippi. During 2003, we have expanded our programme to seven other high schools in Philippi, Nyanga, Crossroads, and Guguletu.

Evolution of SAEP’s Academic Programmes

SAEP began its work at Sinethemba High School in 1999 with a single intern who provided academic support in biology and mathematics to supplement SAEP’s environmental education programme. SAEP’s offerings subsequently evolved, in response to needs expressed by the learners, to develop their English language skills through three activities: debating, publication of a student bulletin, and writing poetry. In 2000, four interns from Duke University added these activities -- and community social research and action involving waste management and wetlands -- to our programme at Sinethemba. Other interns participated in our work at Sinethemba in 2001, and that year two debaters from Sinethemba won the national debating championships in Durban. The student bulletin, Nazo Mfundi, became an important institution at the school, as did the writing of poetry among a small group of student poets. These activities required basic computer training and introduction to the Internet, which SAEP interns also provided.

Academic support and enrichment

SAEP's “Secondary Academic Enhancement Programme” is an innovative cluster of extracurricular and co-curricular activities that we believe can become a model for interventions in township high schools. Heavy emphasis is placed on development of English language skills, creative expression, and critical thinking (all needs expressed by the students themselves), which are also essential tools for environmental management and sustainable economic development. The primary activities at present are:

Debating and public speaking – The two Sinethemba debaters who won the SA national debating championships in SA in 2001 became SAEP “gap year” interns and helped established the Township Debating League in partnership with debaters from the University of Cape Town. Over twenty schools are now participating in the League. See www.townshipdebating.org.za The two interns are also providing special training in debating for teams from other high schools organised by another youth support organisation, Molo Songololo.
Journalism – Publishing a student newspaper has proved among the most popular and rewarding of the activities supported by SAEP at Sinethemba. Facilitating the development of student newspapers at other schools is SAEP’s second highest priority after debating. SAEP interns are also contributing stories to Indaba Zazekhaya, the newspaper of the Integrated Serviced Land Project (iSLP). The suggestion has also been made that a newspaper might be published by the schools as a group to share news and information among them.
Poetry. SAEP runs workshop to promote the writing of poetry and hopes to assist in the publication of a volume of poetry by students from the schools involved.
Computer literacy and information technology – Consistently with its limited funding, SAEP is providing training in computers and IT at participating high schools that have computers but require training for the students engaged in SAEP activities. Two SAEP students have developed a web page on Philippi Township called TownshipConnection . This site recently received Honourable Mention in the ThinkQuest Africa 2002 Competition.
Mathematics and Science. SAEP intern Thandisizwe Zondi and other recent graduates of Sinethemba who are now at tertiary institutions are providing tutoring in maths and accounting. SAEP is also working with the Science Faculty at UCT to promote the study of science in the township high schools.
Critical thinking. SAEP is launching the Touchstones programme of discussion groups pioneered at St. Johns in Annapolis, Maryland, USA based upon the “Great Books” teaching concept and using materials developed from that programme.
Environment: outdoor education and community action – SAEP is continuing its mission of environmental education through a series of lectures/seminars, outdoor excursions (in partnership with the Mountain Club of SA) and community action involving local wetlands and waste management.
Art and cultural history – SAEP has facilitated a very exciting training and art enrichment programme for teachers and students at Sinethemba through partnership with the Frank Joubert Art and Design Centre, Western Cape Education Department. Hopefully this will lead to the offering of art as a matric subject at Sinethemba. The most recent project has been a three week intensive course in photography for a group of twenty Sinethemba teachers and learners.
Academic and career counselling – SAEP is providing, on an informal basis, practical support, guidance and preparation for Sinethemba students contemplating tertiary education.

Expansion of programme to neighbouring high schools

In 2003, SAEP expanded its core programmes to two other township high schools, beginning with Oscar Mpetha High (Nyanga) and Zisukhanyo (Samora Machel area of Philippi). Development of the Township Debating League has been the second step in this direction. SAEP looks forward to exploring opportunities to work in other areas with staff and learners at other high schools, and to learn from their experience in providing extra-curricular activities of the type SAEP seeks to support.

‘Gap year’ Internships

In late 2002, three recent Sinethemba graduates – Luzuko Hina, Bulelani Futshane, and Ayanda Mpu -- asked to join SAEP as interns for 2003 for a ‘gap year’ in order to devote their time to community service at Sinethemba and other high schools in the area as a way of “paying back” for the skills provided to them by SAEP, while at the same time exploring academic and career options and preparing themselves for university. In April, they were joined by another classmate, Thandisizwe Zondi, and in June by yet another, Xolani May.. SAEP is provided this group of gifted and dedicated young people an intense leadership training and personal development experience while at the same time enabling them to train, nurture, and serve as role models and mentors for younger students. Several other ex-Sinethemba were involved in the programme on a part time volunteer basis while at tertiary institutions. For an analysis of the first year of SAEP's gap year programmes, see Rachel Glickel, A Compass for South Africa’s Youth: The Southern Africa Environment Project’s Model for Community Intervention

In 2004, SAEP took another five recent matriculants into its gap year programme.

In 2005, SAEP expanded the programme to take ten gap year interns. See profiles of 2005 gap year interns.

For further information on SAEP's high school programs, contact:

Norton Tennille
Tel and fax: 27-21-689-2020 or 685-3431
E-mail: norton.tennille@gmail.com