National General Secretary: Rev Sipho Sokhela
Sipho has extensive NGO experience, having worked in youth development and later as the CEO of the KZN Christian Council (KZNCC).
His history with the YMCA dates back to 1991 as a staff member in a local branch and he also served as Chair of the YMCA in a volunteer capacity.
He has served as Chairperson of PACSA Christian and of Church Land Programme, an agency focusing on land restitution and justice issues. He is a Member of the Board on Rob-Smitherham, an NGO working with children in distress.
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National Chairperson: Dr Bonga Chiliza
A psychiatrist by profession, Bonga works at the University of Stellenbosch where he specialises in schizophrenia. He has written and delivered papers on first episode psychosis and is currently studying a group of young schizophrenia patients some of whom are TIK addicts (a particularly strong street drug in the Western Cape area). Bonga is one of the youngest chairs in the SAYMCA history, having recently concurrently held the positions of Chair of the Youth Committee and Chair of the Western Cape region. He has served as a volunteer member of the SAYMCA for more than 10 years, having joined while a student. Bonga is currently studying for a Doctoral degree, having received scholarships to pursue his studies.
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Capital: South Africa has three capitals: Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative) and Bloemfontein (judicial)
Area: 1,221,037 square kilometres - equal to the combined land mass of Germany, Italy and France
Border countries: At the southern tip of Africa, the country is surrounded on three sides by a nearly 3000km coastline, with the rare phenomenon of two oceans meeting on its shores. Border countries are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It is wrapped around Swaziland, and Lesotho is landlocked by South Africa.
Population: approximately 47 million people, with Blacks constituting just under 80%, Whites and Coloureds 9% each and Asians, of which Indians are in the majority, constituting approximately 2.5%. Several million of the population have illegal immigrant status - they're mostly from other African states
Age structure: 0-14 years 28.9%, 15-64 years 65.8%, over 65 years 5.4%
Median age: 24.4 years (male 24.1, female 24.8)
Infant mortality: male 48.66 deaths/1,000 live births, female 40.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy: male: 49.81 years, female: 48.13 years
Languages: there are 11 official languages - Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, North Sotho, Sesotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Currency: Rand (R), 0.83 = 1 USD (100 cents) – June 2009
Religion: Christianity 79%, no religious affiliation/none declared 15% , Muslim 1.5%, Hindu 1.2%, Jewish 0.2, other 2.2%
Socio-political issues affecting youth development:
Unemployment: South Africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, and in the 15-24 age group, 84% of African females are unemployed. There is mismatch of skills which is affecting youth the most. In the last 15 years a national focus on developing high-skill industries such as technology and banking, and a simultaneous loss of jobs in the agriculture and manufacturing industries, has meant a growth of high-skill jobs but a lack of qualified applicants.
HIV/AIDS: The infection rate seems to have stabilised in recent years, although some experts claim that prior figures were over-estimated. Nevertheless, the rate of HIV infections is still high with approximately 5,7 million people living with HIV. The prevalence rate for young women aged 15-24 is 12.7% compared to 4% for young men in the same age group. Of concern is that 28% of women who are voluntarily testing during ante-natal care are found to be HIV positive. There are an estimated 1,7 million orphans aged 1-17 living with HIV. While there are no official figures, there has been a sharp increase in abandoned babies in the last year in particular - more than 100% in many foster homes or charities. While many are abandoned because of assumed HIV status and ignorance regarding transmission and conversion, high levels of poverty and unemployment also contribute to abandonment.
Crime: The number of children murdered increased by 22.4% and the number of those falling victim to attempted murder increased by 13.7% from 2006/7 to 2007/8. A 2006 study conducted by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention found that, in total, 41.4% of young respondents had experienced some form of victimisation in the year preceding the study, which is almost double the rate for that of adult South Africans.
Latest figures show that in the ‘youth’ (determined by Dept of Correctional Services) age group 14-25, there were 61 616 young people incarcerated, 41% of whom are awaiting trial. In the ‘children’ age group 18 years and younger, of a total of 2 195 incarcerated, 60% of whom are awaiting trial. Of the youth and children inmate population, either incarcerated or awaiting trial, the bulk is for violent offences, followed by economic offences, and then sexual offences.
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Date of establishment: 1940s (first local association established in 1865)
Member of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs:
Member of the World Alliance of YMCAs:
Staff: In the national office there are 3 full-time and 3 part-time/contracted employees, and each local association has its own manager and staff complement
Local associations: 21 in 3 provinces
Beneficiaries: 10 000
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Youth Justice
This programme reaches youth at who are or who have been in conflict with the law, as well as youth whose social circumstances place them at a high level of risk, of either becoming perpetrators or victims of criminal activities. It includes:
· Community awareness, intervention and prevention
programmes
· Work in prisons in which youth are incarcerated,
involving counselling, literacy, lifeskills and personal
development, family liaison
· Reintegration programmes, involving family and
community work; parolees, support groups and
a halfway house
Y-Zone after-care programme
This programme provides after-care for school-going children aged 6-18 at YMCA premises. During this crucial development stage, the young person is provided with the tools they need to deal positively with risks that confront them – immediate and future. Leadership development is achieved through:
· Homework supervision
· Lifeskills and leadership training
· Arts and drama
· Sports
Advocacy
Through joint initiatives and YMCA programmes, the YMCA educates young people on their rights and responsibilities and encourages them to advocate for and participate in the social transformation of their communities. These activities most often focus on advocating on global or national issues at a local level eg unemployment, gender violence etc.
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Mission: Informed by Christian values, we seek to prepare young people for life, leadership and service through focused, development and sustainable programmes.
Slogan: Empowering youth for Life, Leadership and Service
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South Africa and its peoples have a history that is well known by the international community. Subjection of the Black population in particular and apartheid as an official policy was formally overturned in 1990 and the first democratic elections held in 1994.
The first South African YMCA was established in Cape Town in 1865. Various other local associations were formed, before the establishment of the South African National Council of YMCA’s in the 1940s. Each local association is autonomous and is governed by a local board. The YMCA in South Africa has had a turbulent history, with changes of leadership reflective of political and social pressures.
In 2007, the SAYMCA went through an in-depth consultative process of revisioning and emerged with a clear direction on social relevance and sustainability. The SAYMCA also began the GOP process in 2008 and is now in its second year, working with Canada YMCA, YMCA of USAs, Y-Care International and Swedish YMCA/YWCA.
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Rev Sipho Sokhela
National General Secretary
South African National Council of YMCAs
2nd Floor, Gala House
P O Box 31045
Braamfontein
Johannesburg 2017
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: 27 11 339 1385
Fax: 27 11 339 7184
Email: nationaloffice(at)saymca.org.za
Website: www.saymca.org.za
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