Teaching young people how to lead their lives and inculcating leadership values and self-respect at an early age can bring solutions in problems faced by educators in schools on a daily basis, according to Columba Leadership Academy.
With more than 226 schools that have participated in their programmes in almost every province in South Africa, Columba Leadership Academy is on a mission to help more schools and communities change the culture of schools to change the trajectory of young people.
The Savoy Estate-based leadership academy that was formed in 2009 by Rob Tylor, has produced a total number of 3 539 young leaders to bring about change in their schools, their personal lives, in their families and communities they live in.
Tracy Hackland, head of programme at Columba Leadership Academy said the organisation works with educators, learners and communities who identify challenges in their respective schools that need to be faced head on by both teachers and learners.
She said in the past years the organisation has worked successfully with 226 schools – most of them from rural and disadvantaged communities across the country – to unearth new potential future leaders in society.
“Our purpose as an organisation is to transform the culture of schools to change the trajectory of youth. Over the years, we have unlocked potential by focusing on character development, sense of purpose and competence among young people and the promotion of in youth-led social action.
“We help schools who identify challenges at school and help them find working solutions on a problem while instilling values of leadership into learners. From each school, we bring together the principal, educators and a group of 15 learners together to encounter leadership values through indoor and outdoor activities that help them get to know more about each other and work together toward finding solutions on problems facing the school. This could be things like late coming, absenteeism and bullying at their school.”
She appealed to the corporate and business community to contribute toward shaping the future of the country by supporting and investing in initiatives like Columba Leadership Academy that envisages better opportunities for every young person regardless of their background.
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