COSAT leading the way in South Africa

Feb. 2, 2012, 1:00 a.m.

Almost all the South Africans I have met here in Cape Town have been filled with a radiant energy and a willingness to share.

 

This attitude was clearest on our trip to Khayelitsha, one of the poorest townships in the Cape Flat area, a region outside of Cape Town. Our group visited Rosie, a local woman who runs a soup kitchen. She charges 60 cents per meal, but those who cannot pay this price can provide kitchen labor in exchange for food. Even amidst the rows of shacks and mounds of trash, there are initiatives to provide ways in which the poor can procure cheap but quality food.

 

When we got off the bus at Rosie’s, a group of 20 to 30 children came to greet us. Some of the Stanford boys played soccer with them, while a group of 15 boys aged between 6 and 15 came over and wrote their names down in my journal, because they wanted me to remember them. This page of names is going to be one of my most valuable possessions from this trip.

 

Seeing the children playing and laughing reminded me that children everywhere are happy creatures: they need only guidance and a safe, loving environment. It saddens me that lack of opportunity allows so many of them to fall prey to drugs, violence and teenage pregnancy.

 

There is, however, reason to hope for the children of Khayelitsha. We visited the Center of Science and Technology (COSAT), a school that has been declared one of the best in South Africa. COSAT educates the poor children of Khayelitsha free of charge, using funding from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Adolescents from grades eight to 12 are given rigorous educational training–they attend school from Monday to Saturday and receive subsidized transportation and free lunch. The funding, teacher dedication and student passion for learning, despite parental apathy in many cases, ensures that these children have a chance to

COSAT leading the way in South Africa
(Courtesy of Irteza Binte-Farid)

attend tertiary educational institutions once they graduate from COSAT. The school’s matriculation rate is 83 percent! COSAT has set an example in the region, with other schools attempting to copy its model.

-Irteza Binte-Farid

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