The left article above was published last Sunday by the New York Times. It shows how it is virtually impossible to get a job, never mind a good job, in South Africa with just a high school/matric qualification. (12th grade in South Africa is also called “Matric” after the final exams that determine if students may continue their education or not.)
The document on the right includes extracts from Infinite Family’s annual refresher training for our Video Mentors and Net Buddies. These slides make it clear that the more education our teens achieve, the more secure and healthy their lives will be. In addition to spending less time unemployed, the income multiplier effect (pg. 4) makes it easy to see why education is so important for our Net Buddies to build better lives.
Before Infinite Family’s global mentorships, most of the teens, parents, and guardians in our communities didn’t see how education could change their lives. Instead, most teens are encouraged to drop out between 9th and 11th grades so they can start working to help support their families. Six out of ten do not finish high school.
Thanks to our worldwide Infinite Family community, more than 90% of our Net Buddies finish high school and 98% of our grads qualify for advanced education – 85% for top-tier universities.
Our oldest alums (called Net Blazers) now drive their own cars, live in homes they built, and are helping to support an average of 7 additional family members. Their lives aren’t easy, but they have jobs, greater job stability, and more advancement opportunities. They are also the role models that are changing the way their communities think about staying in school and supporting younger teens to do so. Infinite Family Net Blazers are now inspiring their younger peers to stay and do well in school too!
We are eternally grateful to our global Infinite Family, which began investing in South Africa’s teens in 2006 and is just getting started!