Imagine a world where every child, regardless of their socio-economic background, has access to world-class education.
At the Good Work Foundation, this is not just a dream, it is our mission.
In rural South Africa, youth unemployment can soar to an alarming 70%.
GWF is changing his by empowering young people with the skills they need to enter the job market of the future. GWF challenges how we learn, what we learn and who has access to education. It delivers targeted learning programmes for adults and children in Digital Learning Campuses that are built to be adaptable to the needs of digital and wildlife economies.
The world is changing fast and the future will not exclude us. In fact, the future needs us.
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Over two decades, GWF has travelled a remarkable road. Explore the journey:
1997 – 1998
Kate “Teach” Groch travels with the Varty Family around Africa – as a teacher to Boyd and Bronwyn Varty. The seeds for distance learning and nature classrooms are planted.
2003 – 2005
Future Nature, Kate’s conservation volunteer programme at the time, starts visiting the small town of Philippolis.
2005 – 2006
Boyd Varty, Kate Groch and other Future Nature volunteers build a pre-school for the Bergmanshoogte Primary School in Philippolis.
2006 – 2007
The Good Work Foundation is formally established. The Varty family moves back to Londolozi. Kate’s mother, Maureen Goch, affectionately known as Gogo Mo, starts the Londolozi Digital Learning Centre focusing on adult literacy and English. Kate does the Field Guide training.
2007 – 2008
The Good Work Foundation’s Digital Learning Centre thrives at Londolozi. Community interventions commence at Sam Nzime, Happy Homes and Babati, as well as Eric and Maggie’s pre-schools.
2009 – 2010
The Good Work Foundation moves adult learning to Madlala High School in the village of Justicia, near Londolozi. English and International Computer Driving License (ICDL) courses are offered with one laptop and 30 licences. The first official computer centre is set up.
2010 – 2011
A conversation around the concept of a formal digital literacy centres is started between Kate Groch, Dave Varty, Solly & Simphiwe Solomons, Madia van der Walt, Colin Govender and T-Systems. T-Systems gift Good Work Foundation the initial investment to turn a old dusty banana-packing shed into what soon becomes a world class digital literacy centre.
2012
The Hazyview Digital Learning Campus is built and officially opens its doors in August 2012.
2013
The first ICDL classes start in September 2012. These evolve into what later becomes the GWF’s Bridging Year Academy. The first OVC group arrives (that later becomes the Open Learning Programme). The school of Philippolis continues throughout these developments.
2013
The ICDL classes and Open Learning Academy bloom at Hazyview Digital Learning Campus. The GWF team starts to create satellite campuses for deep rural areas, starting in the Justicia village where they move the existing project from the computer centre at Mdlala High School to its own location in a converted barn.
2016
The Justicia Digital Learning Campus is opened.
2017
The 4th Digital Learning Campus is opened in the small town of Huntington, Mpumalanga.
2018
A new Digital Learning Campus is opened in the rural village of Lilydale.
Today, over 8 000 young learners and students are exposed to GWF programmes each year.
These rural youth have access to everything from the languages of access (English literacy, numeracy and digital skills training) to coding & robotics, conservation, hospitality and IT training, yoga, mindfulness and more.
Over 20 years, GWF has leap-frogged tradition and pioneered a unique holistic ecosystem that partners with young people, and supports them in becoming well-rounded, employable citizens of the future.
You can join us and help to bring wonder-filled, 21st century learning to rural South African youth.
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Footprint:
GWF’s cluster of seven digital campuses are located in rural communities in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Free State in some of South Africa’s largest informal economies.
The Digital Learning Campuses aim to:
- Create a “bridge” between school and work, providing the skills, tools and opportunities for rural adult learners to become proficient in English and digital literacy
- Become a hub of digital learning whereby public-sector primary schools outsource their digital learning to the campus;
- Reduce the “digital divide”, providing rural people with the opportunity to actively participate in the 21st Century economy.
The GWF Full Circle:
- GWF offers creative and wonder-filled digital education, complementary to the primary school curriculum.
- For school-leavers, GWF offers courses to “bridge the gap” between high school and the next big step in their lives, as well as vocation-driven training.
- Then, GWF helps to place graduates at their partner tourism and contact centre establishments – bringing the education journey full circle to meaningful employment.
GWF is building a sustainable, scalable model where clusters of Digital Learning Campuses are 100% community-powered and 75% women-led – a model for future rural education that can be replicated across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
