Twenty Grahamstown people have been chosen to take part in a programme set up to connect established business people in the city with first-time entrepreneurs.
Twenty Grahamstown people have been chosen to take part in a programme set up to connect established business people in the city with first-time entrepreneurs.
This was one of two Joza-based projects showcased during Rhodes University's Community Engagement (RUCE) Week last week.
The other project showcased was the Joza Youth Hub.
Di Hornby, Community Engagement Director, stressed that the hubs are spaces for “free-flowing partnership between all community partners and the community itself”, and are also pivotal in transforming the privileged university space.
The programme is a collaboration between the RUCE Office and the Assumption Development Centre (ADC).
The Assumption Development Centre (ADC) was originally run as a clinic by the Missionary Sisters of Assumption from 1992 until 2013.
The Sisters donated the space to meet the needs of local residents and with the help of numerous organisations, a new space for sustainable economic change was created.
David Greybe, Project Director, and Masonwabe Nduna, a full-time intern, are at the helm of burgeoning economic development envisioned by the different stakeholders of the ADC.
Nearly a thousand members of the surrounding community pinpointed unemployment as their main concern.
The community also proposed a solution to this problem – a space where small businesses could find support and guidance and where entrepreneurial skills could be learnt.
The core group of 20, four of whom have recently started a small business, will be mentored for at least two years said Nduna.
“We want people to engage with each other to create feasible businesses. It about opening up communication,” said Nduna.
The ADC has an open-door policy when it comes to business and entrepreneurial skills learning.
All members of the community are urged to visit the centre if seeking assistance or small business support.
The Joza Youth Hub is a place where young people, from toddlers to high-schoolers, can come together and learn a myriad of skills in a fun, interactive environment.
“This is a networking space, a space to redistribute access, agency and the ability to create,” said Gareth Walwyn, Project Director for the Access Music Project which is one of five partner organisations actively using the Joza Youth Hub.
Walwyn said: “What we want is to share our access. Access to the internet and to the world. For that, we need to collaborate with several partners, like Rhodes University.”
In the building there are several rooms with computers where computer literacy skills are learnt. “We teach them how to use applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and how to use the internet without downloading viruses. But besides teaching them IT skills, we also support them in literacy, numeracy and life skills,” Walwyn said.
There is also a studio with music equipment, which is maintained and used regularly by the Access Music Project.
The newest project of the hub is the Mobile Toy Library.
Ida Khwababa works for the library and is very enthusiastic about the initiative.
She said: “A lot of children do not have a lot of toys at home because their parents cannot afford them. Via this toy library, the children can play with different kind of toys.” The library has a dollhouse and dolls, puzzles, and also books. “In the morning groups of children come by and we read a book with them,” Khwababa said.
ADC is open from 08.30am to 5.00pm on weekdays.
