The Educational Programmes

EDSA is currently supporting three main projects in South Africa as well as having a small bursary fund of its own which is for suitable applicants who have been or are volunteers with one of the supported projects.

You can find more in detailed descriptions by clicking onto the individual project.

Our three main supported projects are:

ASSET (Association for Educational Transformation) which has an office base in Mowbray in Cape Town.  ASSET works with over 2500 secondary school age young people (learners) per week,  from the Black townships and informal settlements of the Cape Flats.  They run large Saturday programmes in both Langa and Khyalitsha townships during term time, using large local schools as a base.  These township communities are enormous and still growing, they are peopled predominently by Xhosa speakers many of whom have rellocated from the poverty stricken Eastern Cape in an attempt to gain work in the City of Cape Town.  HIV/AIDS continues to be rife within township areas as is TB and other related diseases of poor overcrowded conditions.

SAMLA (South Africa Mobile Library Association) this is a rather grand title for a small project based in 3 containers in the township of Guguletu.  It aims to encourage children and young people to read and enjoy books, to have a space for themselves and for doing homework and to take part in story telling and writing.  It is very important for those children and youngsters from the community, none of whom have books of their won nor places to enjoy them.

NET VIR PRET  ("Just for Fun") takes part in Barrydale a small rural town 3 hours drive from Cape Town in the isolated Overberg area.  The township is known as "Smitsville" and is literally over the hill from the main town.  The project offers after school work, holiday programmes, toy libraries, a reading scheme and other opportunities for children and young people.  The project also works in a number of the small "Farm Schools" dotted around the area where the children are particularly impoverished and the schools struggle for resources.