When some pupils finish school, they opt to never go back. But for former Delta Secondary School pupil, 26-year-old Panduleni Nghipandulwa, he realised that life was not as easy as people thought and wanted to prepare pupils for life after school.
Hence the reason for starting up the Youth Development and Mentorship Programme, an initiative aimed to motivate and target about 50 000 pupils.
“A lot of students are struggling. So we meet with those in the programme once or twice per month and give them life coaching by spreading the message of leadership.”
The programme came to life in January this year and so far, Nghipandulwa has visited schools such as Amazing Kids Private School, Ella du Plessis High School as well as Jan Möhr Secondary School among many others. And he has more schools lined up for the future to deliver heartwarming talks that will hopefully change the pupils’ mindsets about the future.
“I’ve told them some things that I would have liked to know when I was in school,” Nghipandulwa said. “I try to encourage them to focus on school and not to get caught up with alcohol, etc. I’ve also spoken to them about how hard it is being a graduate from the University of Cape Town, so I tell the children that they have to do their best.”
Other aspects the programme focuses on is mentoring and character building. “We teach the children that they can be what they aspire to be. It’s all about self-belief. If you have faith, you can move mountains.” Nghipandulwa has also noticed the struggles pupils go through with the current curriculum and offers his help so that the children can pass their exams properly.
When Nghipandulwa is not busy mentoring, the entrepreneur often participates in community development projects where he can.
If you are interested in being a part of the programme or would like to get into contact with Nghipandulwa, email him at nghpan001@myuct.co.za or find him on social media platforms as Panduleni Nghipandulwa.
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