THE DRUMBEAT - February 2025
Global Camps Africa equips South Africa’s vulnerable youth with the tools and knowledge to lead healthy, empowered lives and make positive impacts on their communities.
GLOBAL CAMPS AFRICA’S 2025 GALA
Join us and support a great cause! Global Camps Africa is hosting its annual “One Night for Sizanani” gala on April 26, 2025, at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, and we would greatly appreciate your support! When you purchase a ticket, become a sponsor, bid on an auction item, or enter the gala raffle, you’re investing in a child’s future.
This event is so much more than a beautiful evening with delicious food in an elegant venue with celebrity speakers (although it is all of those things). It is a chance for each of us to make that investment so that even more children can be equipped with the tools they need to have a happy, healthy life and hope for the future.
Even if you are unable to attend the event, please consider purchasing a sponsorship or making a donation to help us raise the funds necessary for our programs. We would be extremely grateful for your support, as would the children who will benefit from your contribution.
REPORT FROM THE FIELD
Youth Clubs are back in full swing! Our vochellis have been very busy registering new campers and fine-tuning the curriculum so that it is as clear and effective as possible. Across all 10 Youth Clubs locations, hundreds of campers have returned to continue receiving our life skills programming, and dozens of new children have shown up to register and join the Camp Sizanani community.
The Youth Club Innovation Space (YCIS), sponsored by Cisco, is one of our campers' favorite activities within Youth Clubs. Most recently, campers used coding mats to visualize coding sequences. On these coding mats, tiles can be arranged in a grid, maze, or line, allowing the children to plan their own course to reach their destination, simulating the construction of code on a computer.
As technology continues to shape industries, coding opens doors to several career paths in the tech world. It also provides the opportunity to bridge the growing international digital divide, create innovative solutions for local challenges, and contribute to the country's growing tech ecosystem. By learning to code, our campers are not only enhancing their employability, but also gaining the tools to drive change and economic growth in their communities.
NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH CENET
Cultural Exchange Network (Cenet) and Global Camps Africa (GCA) are excited to announce a transformative partnership that will bring the magic of summer camp to new horizons. Through this collaboration, Cenet will facilitate camp counselor positions at American summer camps for South African vochellis from Camp Sizanani, fostering international exchange and cultural enrichment.
"We are honored to partner with Global Camps Africa in their mission to uplift South African youth through the transformative power of camp," said Michael Thompson, Senior Director of Programs at Cenet. "This collaboration not only strengthens cultural exchange but also aligns with our shared vision of creating meaningful impacts across borders."
This partnership celebrates the power of camp to build bridges between cultures while supporting critical youth development programs. Together, Cenet and GCA are working to create a brighter future — one camp experience at a time!
Collaboration with Cisco South Africa
Global Camps Africa has launched a new collaboration with Cisco South Africa, specifically through the Cisco Networking Academy. Cisco Networking Academy is a skills-to-jobs program shaping the future workforce. Since 1997, the program has impacted over 20 million learners in 190 countries.
We now have 60 vochellis being trained to deliver technology-centered content to the vulnerable youth in our Youth Clubs, including topics such as cybersecurity, networking, artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, programming, and general digital literacy.
By equipping our vochellis and campers with this knowledge, we are bringing much-needed technical education to South Africa and continuing to narrow the digital divide. Much like the Youth Club Innovation Space, beneficiaries who participate in the Cisco Networking Academy will have the skills necessary to pursue educational and employment opportunities and excel in the digital age.