After School Programme [ASP] and Youth Skills Development [YSD] alumni, and current employee Yonela Nelani.
“Currently at the Amy Foundation, I work in administration for YSD for the second year of my internship. I organize and communicate with the students, give them their schedules, prep stats, and help with recruitment. In 2005, when I was in school at 9 years old, I remember hearing the drums outside of my classroom while cleaning it. Intrigued by the music, I rushed out to join the other kids. There I found out about the After School Programme at the Sinako Centre in the New Cross Road area. Being a shy girl, I didn’t have the confidence in myself to put myself out there. I did some solo dances and joined a leadership course. I also learned English, which was the biggest contributor to my confidence boost. In 2015, after grade 12, I left to join the YSD hospitality programme. Through my hard work, I earned an internship at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa where I worked in housekeeping. Afterwards I applied to Cape Peninsula University of Technology for accounting. Unfortunately, my family and I had financial problems, so I applied to work as a part time cash consultant. It was too much work and I had to quit my job to study full time.
After getting my degree in accounting, I returned to Amy Foundation in 2021 to volunteer and give back. The Amy Foundations has done so much in helping me out. They helped me with my confidence and career. When I had nowhere to go, they were always opening doors and always willing to help. They are family to me. They guided me through my life and they motivated me to go back to school when I wanted to.
Yonela wants to land an accounting job in the future. Although she is not there yet, she is very proud of herself and all her achievements. In Yonela’s own words, “You fail and pick yourself up,” something she has always lived by. The Amy Foundation is happy to continue working with such a remarkable person and wishes to support her in her future endeavors.
