Four students from St John’s College and Roedean School have used their time in lockdown to drive positive social change. The learners built and launched Ukuzibuza, which means ‘to ask oneself’, in response to the injustices and challenges faced by local and international youth.
“It’s a space for other people my age to explore their own feelings about issues that are affecting them, from race and sexuality to the changing nature of education. At the same time, we’re helping young people find confidence in publishing their own writing and using their voices,” said Sazi Bongwe, co-creator of Ukuzibuza and a matric student at St John’s College.
Heading up this project also aligns with Bongwe’s goal of studying applied mathematics and economics at a top university in the United States. “Top universities are looking for candidates who demonstrate leadership and innovation during this time. The work that Sazi and Eli have done is a great example of how students can build an impressive university application, even with school and club-based activities, extracurriculars, competitions, and events being cancelled. Students have more time, power, and flexibility in their extracurricular options now than they think,” said Rebecca Pretorius, Country Manager at Crimson Education.
Bongwe and fellow Ukuzibuza co-creator, Eli Osei, teamed up with Crimson Education, a global mentoring company that connects students with admission strategists and tutors to assist them with the complex application process for overseas universities.“When I pitched the website idea to my extracurricular and leadership mentor at Crimson, I was still quite sceptical about whether it would work. She assured me that it was worthwhile and immediately started helping me create a plan for getting it off the ground. She supported me and provided a lot of guidance in terms of logistics and dealing with people,” said Bongwe.
Crimson supports students who are interested in developing impact projects through the ‘Crimson Youth Fund’, a philanthropic arm of Crimson Education, created to provide students or recent graduates aged 13 to 21-year-olds with essential resources to bring their event or project to life.
