Amawele School Twinning Project
Eurocape supports the Amawele School Twinning Project, a not for profit organisation operating at local and international level. It was established in 2007 and has two full time employees - one based in Ireland and the other in South Africa.
Taking its name from the Xhosa word for 'Twin', Amawele is an exciting project for schools in Ireland and South Africa. Amawele facilitates the 'twinning' of schools in Ireland, with their counterparts in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal provinces of South Africa.
How It Works
Through a range of projects and programmes, students and teachers are able to explore the culture and experiences in their respective countries. Participation is aimed at second level students and the older classes of primary schools.
Life is about people. Amawele's twinning programme is about celebrating young people's lives, broadening their horizons and fostering global citizenship.
Promoting Greater Cultural & Social Understanding
Each country contributes to the understanding and benefit of the other, generating two way traffic in terms of cultural and educational twinning. By helping to twin South African and Irish schools, Amawele is fostering a greater awareness of global issues, through real people and real experiences. We believe this enrichment benefits pupils and teachers from both communities - culturally, morally, spiritually and socially.
In addition to addressing educational disadvantage, schools in South Africa face the problems associated with HIV/AIDS, which, by decimating whole generations, has created thousands of orphans who depend on schools not only for education but also for feeding and basic medical care.
The initiative is being undertaken with the support of the South African government with the aim of building up the delivery of education in these areas.
Amawele works closely with a number of other organisations that are active in South Africa, such as Friends in Ireland and Link Community Development. They are working at ground level, building orphanages and hospices and improving the educational system.
To find out more information about the Amawele School Twinning Project, contact Eurocape.
