The Bulungula Incubator (Bulungula) is found in Nqileni, in the Xhora Mouth Administrative Area within the Eastern Cape. Letsema has worked with Bulungula since 2018, assisting in the addition of an Internet-accessible, solar powered classroom for learners from Grade 1 to 7. Funding was also been provided for the new Bulungula College – discussed in detail below. In addition, digital dashboards were developed to help them view, analyse and interpret the comprehensive data they have collated for their communities over time.
Since its founding in 2007, Bulungula has sustainably sought to end poverty in a generation while enhancing community life and cohesiveness in the communities they work in. Bulungula has over time built interventions that target a range of challenges faced within the region, such as job creation, education, health, and sustainable livelihoods. Education is especially close to Bulungula’s heart.
Education’s challenge in Xhora Mouth Administrative Area
According to data from 2015, approximately 95% of learners from Xhora Mouth Administrative Area do not ever complete Grade 12. There is no functioning transport to take learners to any high school or college. Learners who want to study beyond Grade 9 must rent accommodation away from their families and care for themselves. This is while the nearest institution that offers Grades 10 to 12 has consistently had a matric pass rate below 40%.
To address these problems, Bulungula, in partnership with key stakeholders, have created and implemented the Conception to Career programme. The programme focuses on subjects ranging from health in pregnancy to supporting skills development to further enable career opportunities. Developed programmes and interventions have positively impacted community health, early childhood development (ECD), child nutrition, and school online education up to Grade 9, among other concern areas. These programmes have all demonstrated excellent results and Bulungula is now seeking to fill in the Grade 10 to Grade 12 educational gap.
“We have had notable success in the early life stages of the programme. We are now looking to establish a leading institution for Grades 10, 11 and 12, applying the latest available technological solutions that can help to bridge the educational gaps in our underserved areas,” says Rejane Woodroffe, Bulungula’s founder. By addressing this final stage of education, one of the most remote and underserved communities in the world can change its fortunes in a lifetime.
An education pathway and what Bulungula needs
To fill this critical education gap, Bulungula established Bulungula College in 2019. Bulungula College builds on the successes of its primary school support programme. Working in partnership with parents, teachers and the broader community, Bulungula College aims to leverage impactful online educational solutions. E-learning platforms will complement the work of Bulungula’s excellent teaching team to address learner backlogs and foundational gaps.
However, barriers such as cost, Internet access, and teacher-principal classroom technology familiarity are hindering its potential impact.
Bulungula College’s first intake saw two classes totalling 70 Grade 10 learners enrolled, with more grades and classes planned in the coming years, especially Grade 12. The goal is to reach an intake of 240 learners by 2021, divided across six classes. In addition, Bulungula are expanding Bulungula College to become a Job Skills Training Hub so that youth in the area can pursue a wider range of vocational opportunities.
The support Bulungula requires – totalling approximately R1.4 million – will be critical in building Bulungula College’s capacity to change the lives of those that enrol in it. Importantly, by partnering supporting Bulunugula College, you will also be making a meaningful contribution to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), earning B-BBEE Scorecard points towards Skills Development.
Where received funds will be used
Funds received for Bulungula College will support improved infrastructure to expand the Job Skills Programme, increase subject choice offerings, and cover core running costs from 2021. In addition, beyond being essential to Bulungula College’s day-to-day operations, funding received will:
- Ensure a path out of poverty for children unfairly burdened by their context.
- Deepen Bulungula’s “Conception to Career” programme by making excellent education accessible and removing serious barriers to prosperity.
- Help to expand and implement a replicable “technology for quality education” programme which makes quality online programmes widely available in a deep rural setting.
- Complete Bulungula’s existing model, creating a primary-through-high school pathway for learners, and providing essential knowledge government and others can use in the space.
To contact Bulungula and learn how funding radically changes the lives of those they serve, visit their website – https://bulungulaincubator.org/ – or email rejane@bulungulaincubator.org for more information.
