Education

Islamic Relief has been working diligently in the education sector and sees this as the greatest tool towards empowering underprivileged people and communities in South Africa. Our aim is to empower through education to those who never had the opportunity to seek knowledge and more so towards creating opportunities for those from difficult circumstances.

Our education sector gives hope to those who dare to dream and ease their path towards success. We facilitate and implement programmes that create opportunities towards the empowerment of our communities and future leaders.

Thandokwethu Primary School, in Kwa-Zulu Natal

“Education cannot wait… Education for all”.

We all have heard these statements before, but in reality, the situation is completely different

According to the department of Education… there are almost 23,000 public schools in South Africa. 90% of them have no access to a library. More than 1 million learners/students have no access to clean water and sanitation facilities.  70% of them have no internet access. Few of them in more severe cases have no library, no electricity, no water system, no sanitation facility and no safety and security for students/learners.

Thandokwethu Primary School, in Kwa-Zulu Natal, is one of the most severe cases in South Africa. Islamic Reliefs team in Kwa-Zulu Natal visited this school. The team witnessed the terrible conditions of the school and the surrounding areas. On their way, they struggled on the difficult road leading to the school… astonished by the severity of the situation. Can we imagine travelling this path every day, as these students are doing?

Islamic Relief will be restoring and rebuilding the school

Upon entering the school, we saw a facility not conducive for learning. The schools infrastructure is damaged and completely unsafe to use.  Cracked walls… broken windows…no library… no clean water, and no sanitation facilities. The situation is bad. Yet, in the face of all these obstacles, the students and teachers are there. They face the brutality of their circumstance and joyfully try their best to seek knowledge in these difficult conditions.

Islamic Relief has proudly undertaken the mission of ensuring Education is for all. Islamic Relief will be restoring and rebuilding the school, ensuring a safe haven conducive for learning and teaching. Approximately 200 students attend this school on a daily basis making the need even greater. 

Your support can help us uplift and empower this school, ensuring a safe, reliable space for almost 200 students at the Thandokwethu School. Support this project and enable Education for all.

Cracked walls… broken windows…no library… no clean water, and no sanitation facilities.

The MOU signing ceremony – The Leadership College

“Education is one of the most powerful tools to change the world” Nelson Mandela

Islamic Relief has a long-lasting relationship with The Leadership college (TLC) who offers free quality education too all its students with the aim of empowering previously disadvantaged communities to have an opportunity to succeed in life.

Islamic Relief SA has once again signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Leadership College to fund the EDUCATE A LEADER project for 2022.

An-Nur Project ANP

An-Nur is an educational institute, which strives to create inclusivity through team building programs. The vision is to have well educated competent and dynamic youth leaders from within the less fortunate communities, who are able to serve as role models to other youth as well as addressing the socio-economic challenges within their own communities.

The learners are from various underprivileged areas in South Africa. Some of these students are orphans, while others are raised by a single parent and/or from dysfunctional homes.

An-Nur Educational Center provides these children with a safe environment to grow in, while providing quality education. Islamic Relief South Africa in collaboration with the Supreme Scholar supports these children via the An-Nur project, which assists the youth and aims to develop them through holistic education, training, and capacity building programs. These programs will strengthen and fortify them with the necessary skills and aptitude to be dynamic leaders through empowering, educating, uplifting them with skills to succeed in life. Their progress will directly influence how they view themselves, their families, communities and the broader society.

Islamic Relief SA in partnership with Supreme Scholar has been funding this An-Nur project since 2020 while overseeing the implementation of the ANP project in Cape Town, South Africa.

An-Nur educational center creates opportunities for its students to experience the environments and the historical backgrounds of South Africa by taking them on regular excursions. These excursions all have meaning to it and focuses on different aims for these days.

The orientation event

An-Nur Education Centre held its orientation event for new students at the Greenpoint Park in Cape Town. The aim was to create an environment of freedom while experiencing the beautiful scenery in the park. Students had the opportunity to meet their new classmates and through this, starting their journey in a healthy happy way.

Students partaking in activities at Green Point Park

The Beach event

The main aim of the beach event was to get students out for the day to relax, have fun and enjoy themselves on the beach and in the ocean. The intention behind this excursion was to distract students from the normal routines and create a fun, exciting day filled with enjoyment while relaxing and unwinding themselves. The students enjoyed themselves and created memories that will last a lifetime.

Educational Trip to the Museum

The aim of the Museum visit was to educate the students on the historical moments in South African history. Students also had time away from their normal day-to-day studies, learning about the cultures and traditions in South Africa
The tour through the Slave Lodge museum provided an insight into the history of slave trade in South Africa.

The trip was intended to inspire a sense of activism, promote youth involvement into the fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery to which most refugees are susceptible

The children received a career guidance talk and motivation from various professionals.

At the Slave Lodge museum students learnt about the history of Slave Trade in South Africa

IT Training Graduation

At the Cyber Minds Institute in Parow, the ten refugees and asylum seekers received their certificates and graduated.

Graduates of the program receiving their certificates.Through facilitating access to rights, knowledge about health, education, work, and social inclusion, IT training has a tremendous impact on refugees’ life. In the end, this promotes independence for refugees and asylum seekers.

Migrant community workshop and engagement with public health officials

To provide a better understanding of the services available from the health sector and an exchange of information on how to address challenges experienced as well as to promote a cohesive relationship between migrants and the health sector.

Handover of sewing machines to refugee women

The Muslim Refugee Association of South Africa (MRASA), a refugee support group that coordinates project activities, received 20 sewing machines from IRSA in an effort to encourage self-reliance among women refugees and asylum seekers.

A site visit to the Rafah sewing studio in Retreat was made after the transfer ceremony to observe the day’s sewing training sessions.

The ultimate goal of the micro sewing project is to promote self-reliance refugees by equipping the trainees with the sewing skills, capacity and agency to be able to sustain themselves.

IRSA Bursary Program

The IRSA Bursary Program focuses on providing needy tertiary students with financial support to access their education. The program seeks to empower and equip young South Africans with opportunities that will enable them to lead sustainable lives. The recipients of the 2022 Bursary Program participated in IRSA’s inaugural virtual meeting.

The purpose of the virtual session was to welcome the holders of the rights to the IRSA family, go over all the finer details of the bursary program, and lay out the upcoming activities that would help the holders of the rights during the academic year.

Islamic Relief does not only support these individuals financially but offer support in every sense possible. There are designated members who follow up on the needs whether physical or emotional needs and sees to these students with the aim of them succeeding and empowering not only themselves but their families and the communities they will return to. The aim is to create leaders and role models for many in the areas they frequent.

Osizweni Community Centre

The Osizweni Community Development Project is a needs-based, holistic participatory project which has been running for a number of years and is implemented in partnership with key government stakeholders in the City of Johannesburg such as the Department of Education, Department of Social Development, Department of Agriculture and Department of Health. The community is able to receive support in the form of counselling services, training and awareness, support groups, nutrition through the community garden and many more activities to the empowerment of communities. The Osizweni community centre runs under different sectors and has workshops and events that focus on different needs in the South African communities.

OCDP Teachers Graduation

The Teachers at the Osizweni Community Development Centre graduated at the Professional Child Care College (PYT) LTD after the completion of the training courses to improve their skills and knowledge on teaching methods and practices. This course enables teachers to increase their skills in teaching and enhance the skills and knowledge required to ensure quality and supportive teaching while providing a safe, secured and conducive environment for learning. 

Human Rights Day

Osizweni Community Care Centre hosted an event in commemoration of the National Human Rights Day. This event is one of the Community Centres themed events that are implemented to promote improve life-skills and social awareness within the community.

TB Awareness Campaign

Due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases, particularly tuberculosis, in the area, OCCC and other stakeholders sponsored an awareness campaign to educate the residents of Ennerdale and its neighboring areas. People who are TB defaulters, those receiving TB treatment, and those who share a home with TB-infected family members were all intended beneficiaries of the campaign. This helped those who were not afflicted as well, as it taught them how to prevent TB.

Back 2 School Campaign

Islamic Relief volunteers in partnership with Vrede Park Projects organised a back-to-school drive with the aim of getting basic essentials donated to those underprivileged students who are unable to afford the essential needs for school. Stationery, shoes, school bags were collected and distributed to students from difficult circumstances unable to afford school essentials. 

Islamic Relief volunteers also collaborated with Al Taawun who organised a separate school drive with the aim of collecting and distributing school essentials for primary school learners who come from underprivileged families, communities, and unable to cater to their schooling essential needs.