THOPE FOUNDATION

ANNUAL REPORT2014/2015

Chairperson’s Report

Tutoring Support

Director’s Report

Mentoring and Life Skills

Mama-Mentors

Asonele Sibetyu

Events and Community Engagement

Social Media & Other Exposure- -- -- -- -- -- -

Reflections: Thobeka Mangqangwana

Thope Foundation Partners

Our Impact

Lessons Learnt

Amahle Mangqangwana

Financial Statements

Chairperson’s Report

Thope Foundation has had a full 2014/2015 year full of growth and learnings.

Our impact has widened over the year with a number of educational tours and over one hundred life-skills sessions delivered. We also had over fifty-two graduates from our Mama-Mentors program.

Our tutoring support has remained constant, and therefore able to create a more structured and efficient system to increase productivity and improve the program delivery. We continue to provide tutoring support in Mathematics, Science and English on a weekly basis. In addition, we have heightened our focus on literacy through additional reading and writing. We’ve also recruited a small cohort of fifteen Grade five girls as a pilot to extend our tracking mechanism and impact. We have had a 99% academic pass rate.

In addition, we hosted the first #MenstruationMatters dialogues with girls in the program. This was an insightful initiative, which highlighted some of the challenges girls experience linked to sanitation, access to sanitary products and lack of education on personal hygiene and sanitation in schools.The Thope Foundation’s website was been

upgraded and updated to a more user friendly platform and aesthetic; including a blog which enables us to share more of our girls’ stories and experiences. Our social media is building traction. Two of our long-time tutors were guests on Hashtag Radio which is an African business network-launchpad online radio station supporting and profiling entrepreneurs, SMEs and events taking place on the African continent.

Our learnings over the year has been profound. We now understand that girls only spaces are key to building confidence, self-esteem and sharing lessons and that in group settings where boys are present, girls do not want to fail and therefore do not attempt activities. The result is that girls lean out of STEM more readily.

In our on-going efforts to build community networks that mitigate young girls’ vulnerability and helps to build resilience, Thope runs the intergenerational dialogues with Grade 7 girls and their female caregivers. We’ve had the most amazing feedback and three particular reviews can be found in the annual report.

Many thanks.Madineyah Isaacs, Board Chairperson

Director’s ReportWe are two years old and what a wonderful time we’ve had planting our roots, building partnerships and delivering a high impact education support program for young girls.

Thope’s reach has more than tripled since its founding in 2013 and we are on the upward path to reaching more girls and deepening our impact. Further to the program growth, we have more than quadrupled our budget and increased our donor base indicating a growing support for our efforts. The increased support has meant that we are able to offer enriched education support programs with our key focus being our main offering of Maths, Science, English, robotics, computer programming and reproductive health life skills. Moreover, we have embarked on research profiling young girls’ vulnerability within schools, the blockages that lead to higher school drop out for girls as well as

understanding the support networks that girls re-quire in order to retain them in school and create a generation free of HIV/AIDS and gives women and girls the power to decide their sexual and family health. We are looking forward to the findings of the research in the next few months.

Enjoy our annual report where we share our main highlights of the past year, our impact articulated in numbers, our learnings and stories shared by our alumni.

Thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to a bigger and stronger relationship in the years to come.

Rethabile Mashale,Director

Events and Community Engagement

May 2014: we took our Grade 9 girls attending the WomEng Women in Engineering: GirlEng Information session hosted at UCT on the 9th of May. Our Grade 9 girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience learning about the different streams of engineering.

June- August 2014: Hosted six successful Mama-Mentors workshops with Grade 7 girls and their female guardians. Mama-mentors is a series of intergenerational dialogues aimed at supporting primary school girls transition into high school, equip mothers and caregivers with the tools to support vulnerable girls and create a network of community support for your girls.

August 2014: Thope hosts a successful Women’s Day event where the Thope girls recited poetry, performed dance and skits, sang and shared gifts with the audience. The event was attended by members of the community and school, partner organisations and Department of Social Development officials.

January 2015: Thope foundation Grade 6 girls were featured in the USA based MissHeard Magazine on the theme, “Advice to my little sister”. Writing work that Thope Foundation girls did inspired the theme of the magazine.

November 2014: Rethabile Mashale, Director of Thope Foundation, was a speaker at the TEDxCapeTownWomen presenting on the Mama-Mentors program and its impact on women. The talk was titled, “Women should show up for girls” and included an small exhibition of work titled, “Advice to my little sister” with the Thope Foundation girls attending the sold out event. The event was on Saturday 15th November at Young Blood Gallery Beautiful life Building on Bree Street, Cape Town.

October 2014: 3 day Robotics program with ORTSA Cape for 60 girls.

3 EDUCATIONAL

TOURS416

76

10456

hours of additionalschooling added

learners reached w i t h t u t o r i n g

Life SkillsSessionsdelivered

learnersparticipated inROBOTICS

DAYS OF HOLIDAYPROGRAMS

Participantsgraduated fromMama-mentors

learnerslearnt how toCODE5552

OURIMPACT

Tutoring SupportThope Foundation recruits young women from the community who volunteer time and skills to support young girls with tutoring and mentoring. This year the number of tutors volunteering on Saturdays has remained relatively constant. We were therefore able to create a more structured and efficient system to increase productivity and improve the program delivery. We continue to provide tutoring support in Mathematics, Science and English on a weekly basis. We have, however, heightened our focus on literacy through an additional focus on reading and writing. We have integrated fiction and non-fiction books from local authors, which were donated to us by New Readers Foundation, The Rotary Club and Fundza Literacy Trust. These books aim to provide not only an increased desire for reading, but also a focus

on skills-based exercises related to the topics and themes.

Another big change this year was the addition of Grade 5 girls to our programme. We recruited a small cohort of 15 Grade 5 girls as a pilot to extend our tracking mechanism and impact. Starting a year earlier also allows us to build some of the fundamental and necessary skills, attitudes and behaviours that underlie our model. Academically, we can rigorously test and support individual learners early on, therefore, lessening the time required for the Grade 6 and 7 girls to acclimatise to the Thope ethos and approach. We are looking forward to the prospects this offers for Grade 5s and our team.

*We have about 39 school reports, which the academic data is derived from. This year we will be asking the primary school to print copies of school reports for us so we are not entirely reliant on the girls to submit the reports.

Learner Enrolment 110 enrolled and 69 retained

Learner Attendance82%

High School Place100% placement7 girls in high schools around Khayalitsha1 girl at Leap Maths & Science School

Academic Pass Rate99%

Maths* Pass Rate60% pass rate code 6 and 735% pass rate with code 4 and 55% below code 4

Science*72% pass ratew with code 5 and above28% below code 4

Tutor Retention100% tutor retention with all tutors in either their second or third year with Thope Foundation

The education program’s success for 2014 include the following achievements:

Mentoring and Life SkillsThe life skills program this year explored many different themes for our sessions and were mainly linked to monthly commemorations of South African public holidays in South Africa, including Workers Day and Heritage Day.

Thope adopted the theme: Which voices matter in women and girls’ rights in 2015? We have been exploring these interrelated themes within our life skills sessions. Particular areas of focus have been:

• The children’s rights in the context of South Africa’s human rights framework, • women’s economic participation and how this intersects with worker’s rights, • reproductive health as a social justice issue and how to address it within the education system • mental health issues.

Girls were asked to express their ideas using their powerful voices to gauge their understanding of: dignity, education, equality, respect, love, justice, consideration and girlhood. These themes were explored throughout the year and were also linked to events happening on a national scale.

In May 2014, Thope hosted the first #MenstruationMatters dialogues with girls in the program. This was an insightful initiative, which highlighted some of the challenges girls experience linked to sanitation, access to sanitary products and lack of education on personal hygiene.  Thope attempted to openly talk about this taboo subject, highlighting menstruation as a natural biological part of many women’s lives yet receives very little attention. Furthermore, in developing nations, many young girls are excluded from formal education within schools and in poor homes simply because they cannot afford sanitary towels or the school bathrooms are just not conducive to privacy and dignity when needing to change ones sanitary towels. We celebrated the first international Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28th May.

Social Media and Other ExposureThe Thope Foundation’s website was been upgraded and updated to a more user friendly platform and aesthetic which we hope will increase our online presence and social media networks. Our website now also has a blog which enables us to share more of our girls’ stories and experiences in the program. Furthermore our presence on Facebook and Twitter has increased significantly with regular updates of interesting articles pertaining to issues affecting girls, education, pioneering women and stories in STEM, and policy development internationally when it comes to girls’ education.

Two of our tutors, Portia Lujabe and Sinesipho Manikivana, were guests on Hashtag Radio talking about Thope’s work and why they stay involved in the program. Hashtag Radio is an African Business Net-work-Launchpad online radio station supporting and profiling entrepreneurs, SMEs and events taking place on the African continent. The interview can be accessed from the following link: http://iono.fm/e/136847?autoplay=1

Lastly, our 2014 Grade 6 girls (now our 2015 proud Grade 7s) have been published in a US-based teen magazine. The pieces published came out of creative writing work done with Catherine Elgonaid, on a theme titled: “Advice to my little sister”. This theme inspired Miss Heard’s 5th issue. To read the stories written by our girls and other teens, you can download the free issue here; http://missheardmagazine.com/product/missheard-issue5-advice.

Lessons LearntIn the course of doing our work, we are learning key lessons about women and girls, the STEM field and how women and girls navigate STEM. Currently, some of our key learnings include:

• Girls only spaces are key to building confidence, self-esteem and sharing lessons.• Women play a vital role in transmitting messages (both verbal and non-verbal) about agency,

ability and capability to girls. • Words shape behaviour- what we say, how we say it significantly impacts young girls’ self-

perceptions.• Girls have significantly more diminished confidence in Mathematics and Science but this does

not equate to their ability.• Even if girls know the answer, they will hesitate to volunteer a response in a group setting but

when girls are alone or with one adult, they do so freely.• Girls who are supported both at home and within afterschool programs, are more likely to

exercise their agency and voice.• Girls code switch language and behaviour when among boys/males. In the presence of a male,

even a peer, girls are become shy and reserved. • In group settings where boys are present, girls do not want to fail and therefore do not attempt

activities. The result is that girls lean out of STEM more readily.• Starting with representation of women and girls in STEM, by using technology as an enabler

for programs, we are able to support girls to keep trying.• Equipping girls with technological tools to increase access, growing their online persona and

presence, girls literally write themselves into digital history. • Focused annual robotics programs for girls across the age spectrum combined with linkages

to STEM high schools, means that girls’ career aspirations are supported throughout the basic education academic lifespan.

MA

MA

Men

tors In its on-going efforts to build community networks that mitigate young

girls’ vulnerability and helps to build resilience, Thope Foundation runs the intergenerational dialogues with Grade 7 girls and their female caregivers. A key goal of the organisation is to ensure that girls receive seamless support within the school environment, home and community. The Mama-Mentors programme has enabled us to extend the support networks formed by Thope Foundation programmes into the home to reach a wider audience. By so doing, we are able to ensure that girls have access to someone in their community whom they can talk to when and if they need; therefore, reducing the dependence on Thope interventions and core team.

Thobeka (mother) and Amahle Mangqangwana participated in the Mama-Mentors program and they share their experience and stories of the program.

“Mama-Mentors was an amazing experience because it was a space where we as parents of the young girls

talked freely about our feelings and I also became honest and open to my daughter.”

“

”

Thobeka MangqangwanaI am Thobeka Mangqangwana, the mother of Amahle Mangqangwana. Amahle came home from school telling me about Thope Foundation and I didn’t want her to join at first because it was on a Saturday. But she begged me, and then I allowed her to. So it was only at her primary school, Chumisa Primary School.

I realized how she was serious about this and I knew this would be great for her to learn and stay out of all the bad things in the streets. It was important for her to join because she learned new things from there and improved in her schoolwork. It also made her speak up and be able to say no when she didn’t like something.

Mama-Mentors was an amazing experience because it was a space where we as parents of the young girls talked freely about our feelings and I also became honest and open to my daughter. My participation in Thope Foundation made a huge difference in my relationship between my daughter and me. There are some things that I wasn’t open about to her. But as she attended Thope Foundation with me, we became open and honest with each other because now we talk more often and when she’s confused or struggles with something, she talks to me and she’s able to disagree with me in a respectful way and I sometimes understand what she is trying to point out to me. When she does wrong, I sit down and talk to her and try to understand why she did that.

It is very difficult to raise a girl, especially in the communities we live in. So it is important that as a mother you must be open and have a good relationship with your daughter. When you have an open and strong relationship it is easy to talk to her about anything so that she can also feel comfortable in talking to you as a mother. Even in tough times for your daughter, support her, be kind and always be on her side so that she can feel the love and not seek it in the wrong places and be in trouble. Being open and honest with your daughter is also good because when you are free to talk to a child no matter how hard the conversation may be and give your best to her to provide for her. Also encouraging your child is good because she gets to improve more and more.

It would be better if Thope Foundation could also be attended on weekdays because the children can focus more on their schoolwork and get help with whatever they need. It would also make them stay out of trouble in the streets and be prevented from doing the wrong things.

“

”

Amahle MangqangwanaI am Amahle Mangqangwana, a 13-year-old girl. Thope Foundation has made a change in my life and has helped me be the person I am today. I Joined Thope Foundation at the end of October 2013 and I graduated last year. Then I joined LEAP Maths and School in 2015.

Thope Foundation helped me to become a good person and gave me courage to get an education in order to become a successful and respected person in life. Being at Thope Foundation was the best time of my life, because as young girls we face very difficult situations in our lives such as teen pregnancy and peer pressure. So, being at Thope Foundation has helped me overcome such situations and avoid them by focusing on my studies and improving on them.

Thope Foundation has always been my pillar of strength because the people who work there are just like my mentors. They helped me in my struggles in schoolwork and have been kind, caring and always willing to help whenever and wherever they could. I learnt to stand up for myself, be confident and be proud of who I am and not pretend to be someone I am not. I also learnt to be honest and to be open with myself and those around me in order to live a healthy life.

This was never an easy journey of my life, waking up on a Saturday morning was hard. But what I like the most is that no one forced me to, this was what I wanted and I did do my best in it. So, all in all Thope Foundation has really made a huge difference in my life because I am where I am because of Thope Foundation. The opportunities Thope Foundation makes for young girls are one to grab and never let go because it’s all about making a change.

To future Thope Foundation girls, I would say this is a big opportunity that comes once in a lifetime, so it is important to grab it and make a success out of yourself. Remember one thing that no one forces you, do what you want and make a change. Don’t do it for people, friend s or family, do it to make a change in your life and become well educated, respectful, motivated and a successful person.

No one is perfect; we all make mistakes and learn from them. So, never mind what bad things people say about you, because they don’t know the real you and what you are capable of. Never give up and work hard and give your best in everything you do. Also one important thing is to put your education as first priority because without education you are nothing.

L-R: Asonele Sibityu and Amahle Mangqangwana in their LEAP school uniform.

“I would like to say that the Thope Foundation girls must work hard so that they can get a

better future by going to one of the greater schools that provide a high education so that they can determine their future. They should

work with the 3D’s, which says, “Your decision will determine your destiny.”

- Asonele

“

”

Asonele SibetyuMy name is Asonele Sibetyu. I’m turning 15 years old this year (2015). I’m doing grade 9 at LEAP Science and Maths School. I joined Thope Foundation in 2013 and I was one of the students who started with Thope and I graduated in the same year. I joined LEAP in 2014 and I was doing grade 8 by the time I joined LEAP. For me at Thope Foundation it was really great and fun because each and every time I got there I would learn something that is productive for my future and me. For that Thope really made a difference in my life because I’m attending one of the best schools in South Africa because of Thope. Well for my side there is nothing that they can change but at least they can try to take other students from other schools so that they can also experience what I experienced.

I would like to say that the Thope Foundation girls must work hard so that they can get a better future by going to one of the greater schools that provide a high education so that they can determine their future. They should work with the 3D’s, which says, “ Your decision will determine your destiny.”

I would like to thank Thope Foundation but mostly sis Rethabile for helping me get into a great school and now I can see where I’m going and what my future will look like. So thank you and I would like you to keep doing the same for other students. May God give you more blessings.

Enkosi!

Thope Foundation Partners IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

• Emaqgabini Education Academy • Fundza Literacy Trust• Ikamva Labantwana Bethu • Non-Conventional Leaders of Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg Campus• ORTSA CAPE South Africa • South African Jewish Museum

IN-KIND PARTNERS

• Cape Town Office • Chumisa Primary School• Leap Maths and Science School• New Readers Foundation• The University of Stellenbosch (Faculty of Health Sciences, Tygerberg Campus)

FUNDING PARTNERS

• Children of South Africa • HCI Foundation • U.S. Embassy Self-Help Grants • WHEAT Trust

Financial StatementsThope Foundation(Registration number 130-053 NPO)Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015

General Information

Country of Incorporation and domicile South Africa Directors Athambile Masola Madineyah Isaacs Rethabile Mashale

Registered office 2nd Floor, The Cape Town Office 62 Roeland Street Cape Town 8000

Business Address 2nd Floor, The Cape Town Office 62 Roeland Street Cape Town 8000

Bankers First National Bank Reviewers N Saayman Chartered Accountant (SA)

Company Registration Number 130-053 NPO Level of assurance These annual financial statements have been independantly reviewed in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Non-Profit Organisation Act.

Preparer The annual financial statements were internally compiled by: Tammy van der Horst

Published 29 February 2016

Thope Foundation(Registration number 130-053 NPO)Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015

Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2015

Figures in Rand Note(s) For the year For the 7 ended 31 months March 2015 ended 31 March 2014

Assets Non-Current Assets Property, plant and equipment 2 800 -

Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents 3 122,000 5,872

Total Assets 122,800 5,872

Reserves and Liabilities

ReservesRetained Surplus 122,800 872

Liabilities

Current LiabilitiesDeferred Income 4 - 5000Total Reserves and Liabilities 122,800 5,872

Thope Foundation(Registration number 130-053 NPO)Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015

Statement of Financial Performance

Figures in Rand Note(s) For the year For the 7 ended 31 months March 2015 ended 31 March 2014

Revenue Donations Received 167,024 998

Operating ExpensesBank Charges 1,078 126Catering 7,200 -Computer Expenses 618 -Depreciation, amortisation and impairments 400 -Learner meals 5,312 -Learner stationary 5,667 -Library books 400 -Miscellaneous expenses 750 -Printing and stationary 1,429 -Small assets 6,600 -Telephone and airtime 210 -Transport workshops 8,400 - Tutor Transport 7,032 - 45,096 126Surplus for the year 121,928 872Other Comprehensive surplus - - Total comprehensive surplus of the year 121,928 872

Thope Foundation(Registration number 130-053 NPO)Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015

Statement of Changes in Reserves

Figures in Rand Retained Total Equity Surplus

Surplus for the 7 months 872 872Other comprehensive income - -

Total comprehensive income for the 7 months 872 872 Balance at 01 April 2014 872 872 Surplus for the year 121,928 121,928Other Comprehensive surplus - -

Total comprehensive surplus for the year 121,928 121,928

Balance at 31 March 2015 122,800 122,800

Note(s)

Thope Foundation(Registration number 130-053 NPO)Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015

Statement of Cash Flows

Figures in Rand Note(s) For the year For the 7 ended 31 months March 2015 ended 31 March 2014

Cash Flows from operating activties cash generated from operations 5 117,328 5,872

Operating ExpensesPurchase of property, plant and equipment 2 (1,200) -

Total cash movement of the year 116,128 5,872Cash at the beginning of the year 5,872 -

Total Cash at the end of the year 122,000 5,872

THOPE FOUNDATION’S MISSION IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO AN

AFRICAN SOCIETY WHERE WOMEN AND GIRLS HAVE

EQUAL ACCESS TO QUALITY SOCIO-ECONOMIC

OPPORTUNITIES TO BE HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIIVE CITIZENS.

Madineyah Isaacs

Athambile Masola

Rethabile Mashale

073 166 9326

info@thopefoundation.org

086 597 1547

www.thopefoundation.org

NPO: 130-053 PBO: 930048309

BOARD MEMBERS

“

”