University Internship Program: Ntando's Story
South Africa has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the world: between 63% and 75% this year. We connected with the South African Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) to build a thriving partnership to help address this crisis. As a result, Camp Sizanani employed three young people as part of our internship program in 2021. The program provides students with work experience to satisfy their university requirements while earning a salary. According to Camp Sizanani’s program director, Neo Nkosi, “Camp Sizanani has seen the interns rise up and take responsibility for their lives and their role within our organization. We are proud of their contribution and commitment to positively change the lives of young people.”
Camp Sizanani interns created a video to share about their experience, featuring Ntando.
Ntando, an intern at Camp Sizanani in South Africa, says, “Growing up from a poor, disadvantaged family wasn’t easy for me because sometimes my family couldn’t afford some of the stuff that others had. But I always told myself that I was going to be a teacher one day.” Ntando is a first-year student at the University of South Africa, and is enthusiastically pursuing that dream from his childhood through his studies and his internship at Camp Sizanani.
Ntando lives in Lawley, part of Soweto, a large township in Johannesburg. He’s twenty-four years old and lives with his mother, father, younger brother, and son. Because he grew up in the township setting and still lives there with his family, he truly understands the challenge that children in Global Camps Africa’s programs are facing. He connects deeply with the children who participate in our camps and clubs and is enriched and inspired by them.
As his internship comes to an end and he reflects on his experience, Ntando says,
“What camp Sizanani offers to vulnerable youth inspires me a lot because it is something that I never experienced as a child in Soweto. I would proudly love to continue being a part of the Camp Sizanani team as a volunteer even after my internship ends.”
