Youth Social Action Projects Get Financial Boost

Twenty (20) youth-led social initiative projects receive seed-funding through the enke: Incubator Fund Grant, an initiative by enke: Make Your Mark that is funded by The Australian Government.

Tebogo Peega, a Grade 11 student from Soweto, is taking action in her community through a social initiative called the "Community for Climate" where she has mobilised community members to clean up the garden area in her school and plant vegetables there.  The intention of her social initiative project is to use the garden to teach young people and members of her community about the environment.

Tebogo's project is just one of 20 projects that are receiving financial assistance from enke: Incubator Fund Grant Project, an exclusive seed-funding initiative run by enke: Make Your Markthat is made possible through funding from The Australian Government, who have been enke: Make Your Mark champions since 2009 and funders since 2010.

The main goal of the enke: Incubator Fund is to provide financial support to participants in the enke: Youth Award program to succeed in their youth-led social initiatives called CommunityAction Projects.

"One of the major challenges that young people face in succeeding in their projects is a lack of access to funding. Often we find that adults are hesitant to believe that the youth can make an impact, but we'd like to change that," commented Pip Wheaton, CEO of enke: Make YourMark, "Through the grant application process participants learn how to communicate their short-term and long-term goals for their projects, as well as the fundamentals of financial responsibility and planning".

Other grant beneficiaries include Gareth Kieck, Ricky Hughes & Zane Weir, Grade 11 students from Westville Boys High School, Durban who are seeking to eliminate education inequalities.They have recruited their peers to provide tutoring in Mathematics and Sciences to 16 learners from a previously disadvantaged high-school in Durban. To give more value to the project the tutors have requested that the learners in turn teach them isiZulu and will be using the seed funding to buy scientific calculators that will better assist the learners.

The enke Incubator Fund Grant recipients will be receiving further coaching on financial responsibility and project planning, to help them make a greater impact and have more sustainable projects. It's an exciting time for these young people who are taking social action to change their communities.

Notes:Founded in 2009, enke: Make Your Mark is a grassroots youth development organisation that is inspiring and supporting young people to take action on the world's most urgent social issues. The organisation's mission is to connect youth across socio-economic barriers, equip with tools for success, and inspire to take action in their community. We believe that Community Action Projects (CAPs) are how young people can make their mark. Using skills learned at training, participants in the enke: Youth Award Program are challenged to take action on the social issues they are most passionate about. In 2011 alone the projects of our 146 participants had an impact on 4,656 people in communities across South Africa.

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