Welcome to the Westbury Youth Centre. WYC, for short, aims to empower young men and women through creative and entrepreneurial engagement, building the mind, skills and soul of the Westbury Community. Together with local and international partners, we’ve invested in ensuring that youth develop the leadership, technical, and life skills to earn a livelihood. Whether it’s landing a first job, growing a business, or driving social change, every young person deserves the opportunity to realise his or her full potential. Rooted in the belief of youth as problem-solvers, change-makers, and leaders, our initiatives are catalysts for change and underpinned by a strong life skills component.
In celebration of Youth Month, themed “Youth Power; Growing South Africa Together In The Period Of Covid-19” we would like to recognize young people in Westbury and surrounding areas who make a difference in the lives of its residents and who contribute to making our communities better.
Reggie seated on a chair, looking directly into the camera.
Meet Reginald Hufkie famously known as Reggie Peace, Singer, Actor, Writer, Host, and Motivational SpeakerReggie comes from a community similar to Westbury called Schauderville in Port Elizabeth. He lost both of his parents at a young age and was placed in an orphanage where he started to build a life for himself through a strong support system. He has been part of several successful stage productions like Fiela’s Child The Musical as well as television shows like Generations, Swartwater, and High Rollers, to name but a few.
Reggie left Port Elizabeth, ten years ago which was one of the hardest decisions that he made but he goes on to say: “Leaving PE was hard for me, but I would not be the man I am today had I not made the move. It’s been almost ten years since I made that move, and believe me, I’ve been knocked down so many times, but I’ll always get back up because I was taught: your purpose/gift will be tested to see if it’s really what you must do or not. Plus, ten years is an overnight success they say.”
Reggie, we can’t wait to see what you do next. Good luck and all of the best in all that you aspire to do.
In celebration of Youth Month, themed “Youth Power; Growing South Africa Together In The Period Of Covid-19” we would like to recognize young people in Westbury and surrounding areas who make a difference in the lives of its residents and who contribute to making our communities better.
Jolene pictured with her own set of wings.
Meet Jolene Van Der Ross, Coding and Robotics Coach, Math Tutor, and Math App Creator and DeveloperJolene has been working with students in Grade 6 – 12 assisting them with Math Tutoring in Pure Mathematics and Maths Literacy. Jolene is also part of Unite Siyafunda, an organization that integrates technology into communities and who provides the opportunity for empowerment in STEM and Robotics and coding, and various other open learning faculties for school-going children.
Jolene, during a recent Robotics Workshop, shared: “Building robots is not as crazy as it looks, it’s possible. You need to harness your collective strengths as a team to make a robot and know that everyone has a special role to play in making a robot work.”
Jolene, it’s time to take flight and soar, good luck with your Math App, and thank you for contributing to the future of Coding and Robotics in the community of Westbury and surrounding areas.
FIRST® LEGO® League introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today’s students and teachers build a better future together.
Requirements
Be in Grade 7, 8, 9 or 10
Interested in technology
Team Player
Problem-Solving skills
How do I apply?
Contact Jolene on 063 728 6449 or drop us a mail at infoatwyc@gmail.com.
Please complete the application form, found in the link, below:
In celebration of Youth Month, themed “Youth Power; Growing South Africa Together In The Period Of Covid-19” we would like to recognize young people in Westbury and surrounding areas who make a difference in the lives of its residents and who contribute to making our communities better.
Mosimaneotsile Seetelo with the biggest smile on his face.
Meet Mosimaneotsile Seetelo, Journalist, Writer, and Radio Host
Mosimaneotsile is famously known as James. He has been working in the community of Westbury for more than eight years collecting stories, reporting on community events, and getting to the truth of every matter.
In 2015 he wrote the following note:
“We do not ask the media to turn a blind eye to the negative stories that they see in our community, but how about they publish and broadcast all the positive ones as well? I have been part of this community for the past eight years and I know there are a lot of untold positive stories about us that should be shared by us.”
James, thank you for your contribution. We wish you great success in all your endeavors.
Ashley Bailey, Jolene Van Der Ross, Justin George, Keenan Stewart, Leo Solomons, and Tasneem Sons on their i-set robotics – Components and Pedagogy qualification. They are now equipped to teach the basics of robotics in education (programming, technology, and pedagogy) in terms of knowledge, skills, and values. The team is set to continue with their studies in i-set robotics – M3, today.
Studies have proven that a reading nation is a winning nation and that is why we’re appealing to you to join the Readers R Leaders team in assisting our future generation with reading skills.
Readers R Leaders is a community-based organization that operates in the areas of Westbury, Newclare, Coronationville, and Bosmont. The organization assists children to improve their English reading fluency. They operate entirely with volunteers and are currently requiring more volunteers to work with them.
Readers R Leaders is currently running a Writing Competition for Grade 3 pupils enrolled at Dowling, Newclare, Everest, and Bosmont Primary School. The first prize is a tablet and the second and third prizes are LEGO sets valued at R4,000.00.
Leo Solomons started his journey at the Westbury Youth Centre as a Volunteer enrolled in the Make It Better Program. The Make It Better Program was a Volunteer Program mandated to make the lives of our people in Westbury and surrounding areas better, through acts of kindness. Leo, very early on, knew that he wanted to follow a career in IT as a Technician. So, he instantly gravitated towards anything technical. Whenever the MIBs went into the community to make the lives of the stakeholders better, he wanted to make things better at the Westbury Youth Centre through the End-User Computing Program, for example, he offered to assemble and put together the WYC Computer Lab along with two of his friends. Leo had buckets of experience before he arrived at the Westbury Youth Centre, he had a lot of experience in building computers from a young age as he was gifted with his first computer at the age of 10.
When asked about his journey he said: “I started teaching alongside Dicky as I already knew way more than the basics. I was kind of thrown into the deep end and was offered a chance to become a facilitator. Not only did I facilitate the End-User Computing Program but for a few months, I assisted up and coming talent with guitar lessons. I did that for a few years and eventually, I decided to take my career further by furthering my studies. I left the Westbury Youth Centre to self-study CompTIA A+ and Networking and successfully attained my qualification in October 2017 and February 2018.”
Leo assisting a student.
Leo returned to the WYC, shortly after and was offered a Learnership at Tshimologong through which he studied Networking and Coding. In 2019, Leo, upon his Learnership completion, returned to the WYC to start his technical support repair and desktop support business, namely Aleixo Technologies. In 2020, Leo became one of Mashup Community Development’s partners in extending the skillsets of our young people by facilitating the CompTIA A+ Program with the main purpose of educating and preparing the next generation of IT Technicians.
Networking Workshop
Leo is currently freelancing as an IT Technician, facilitating the CompTIA A+ Program at the Westbury Youth Centre, and has started dabbling in Robotics.
Portia Esau, Portia, or Porsche for short, was born and raised in Westbury with the ultimate childhood dream of becoming a lawyer but it turns out that her Creator had other plans in store for her. Before her Chef, Baking and Restaurateur career, Portia made a career for herself spanning over fifteen years in the Banking, Retail, and Insurance industry.
After years of subtle nurturing of her passion for catering to people’s pallets, she decided to venture into the entrepreneurial space by hosting and catering for family events which quickly grew into a side hustle.
In 2012, her passion for catering and baking gradually grew and after much deliberation with God, she ventured into her business, Portia’s 1 Stop on a full-time basis.
A key connection between her time in the corporate world and then as an Entrepreneur was that both spoke about servicing people’s needs and working in spaces with other people towards a common goal. With this in mind, Portia decided to Volunteer at the Westbury Youth Centre, a few months after it had opened. She got in through a comment on a motivational post through which Regi Botha invited her for an official interview, or at least that’s what she thought it would be. Long story, short, Portia ended up sitting in on the Make It Better class and thinking what a waste! The class concluded to which Regi, concluded with “you belong here.”
When asked about the impact that the Westbury Youth Centre has made in her life, Portia said: “The WYC brought about networking opportunities with individuals and companies alike, which I never dreamt of ever networking with someday or any day. The exposure and networking aided in the growth of Portia’s 1 Stop and has allowed my confidence to grow likewise. Portias1stop has serviced major corporates like Investec, Standard Bank, Absa, Fnb, Edgars, SAA, Makro, Comair, Asupol, and Liberty Life, to name but a few. The honor of catering for Private and intimate events like weddings, funerals, parties, and numerous family celebrations around the country, brings me joy.”
Portia’s highlights include hosting a group of exchange students from Finland, consecutive year-end Christmas lunch’s for the SAA staff, a wedding in Cape Town for a couple from Germany and Cameroon, catering for the intimate unveiling luncheon of the late Hugh Masekela, numerous community catering events hosted by the Department of Social Development, being flown to Durban by Absa & RAK Events to co-host an entrepreneurial event and being one of the keynote speakers at the event, sharing snippets of my journey with a group of orphaned young boys, being flown to Zambia by SAIS and Mashup to participate in an Inclusive Innovation Program, representing the Westbury Youth Centre and having the opportunity to pitch as a business for future and ongoing investment, catering for numerous CSI events big and small alike, for Investec, across the country and being one of the last few people to be interviewed by John Robbie – on radio 702 just before his retirement.
In 2020, while tirelessly working on taking not only her business but restaurant to a whole new level, Covid 19 came along and interfered with Portia’s journey but that didn’t deter her persistence in wanting better for herself and not being afraid to work towards everything that she wanted. Some of Portia’s accolades over the years from an entrepreneurial background include: A nomination in the annual Sage and 702 small business awards in 2016 – and receiving an award as a top 30 finalists. Top 15 Countrywide, finalist in the 2017 annual “Huletts Koeksister Champion” Competition as the first person of color to make it that far in the leg of the competition. Venturing into the Restaurant space in 2017 and becoming the owner of her restaurant, namely “The Furnace” Exploring the beautiful suburb of Melville, through a bold and daunting move, but ever so worth it- which in the same year got named as one of the Top 50 suburbs in the World and last but certainly not least being able to transfer her skills to both women and men between the ages of 18 and 35 with a passion for baking and cooking.
Portia’s currently working around her new way of life with the new normal and she boasts as a recipient of a Bursary from Investec which gave her an entry to Investec’s Start-up School where Portia’s furthering her knowledge on successfully managing and growing her business.
Now we’ve all been hearing about the 4th Industrial Revolution and how it’s set to become part of our schooling curriculum but what exactly does that mean for not only our youth but for all of us occupying different offices in a developing country and an ever-changing world? It means that we need to upskill our skillsets so that no matter what happens, we’re always skilled for any job.
The students receiving insight on the way that the Robots function by utilizing robotics software.
Unite Siyafunda recently held a Robotics and Coding Workshop with the main objective of educating our youth on how they can better prepare for their future by integrating technology into our communities and providing our youth with the opportunity for empowerment in STEM and Robotics and Coding, and various other open learning faculties. Unite Siyafunda (USIYA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the standard of Research & Development through virtual technology in South Africa’s township, rural, and other marginalized groups. Their services include enrolling you in various e-learning platforms, introducing you to Coding & Robotics, compiling a Portfolio of Evidence for your learning development, and providing Evidence of continuous assessment.
Does the best preparation for the future lie in preparing for the future?
The best way to prepare for the future is to prepare for it by inventing it. We have often been told that robots are the future and many of us believed that we would lose out on opportunities because robots would replace human beings but that’s not true.
Unite Siyafunda’s Robots.
Someone once asked: “Will robots replace our teachers?” and the answer to that question was: “No, but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who don’t.”So you can’t allow your faith to lie in someone else, by making yourself replaceable, you need to reinvent yourself and use technology to further extend your future. The Westbury Youth Centre would like to extend its gratitude to the Unite Siyafunda team and yes, “we are learning”.
Dick Solomons is a qualified Computer and Call Centre Training Facilitator, with experience in Customer Care, and Call Centre. Dick Solomons is a qualified Social Auxiliary Worker who has been working as an End-User Computing Facilitator for over five years at Mashup Community Development’s social innovation enterprise, namely the Westbury Youth Centre.
Dick is also the founder of Upgrade, an End- User Computing skills program for adults and part of the economic inclusion incubation programme. Upgrade covers basics, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and computer components.
The intention is to give adults and youth out of school the opportunity to refresh and update their computer literacy. Master Solomons, as he is known by his colleagues and students, registered Upgrade through the assistance, guidance, and mentoring of the SAIS 2 Team. He has since secured a major client and has even employed someone to assist him in further growing his business.
WESTBURY YOUTH CENTRE 