About Imfundo Yeqophelo
A future where every child in township and rural communities has access to quality education close to home, through thriving local schools supported by committed alumni and communities.
To mobilise, organise and empower school alumni to work in partnership with their former schools to improve learning environments and educational opportunities in township and rural communities.
We achieve this by providing a platform for alumni organisation, developing alumni leadership, facilitating collaboration with schools, and supporting the planning, coordination and implementation of school improvement projects.
We believe that no child should have to travel long distances or leave their community simply to access quality education.
Across South Africa, many children from township and rural communities travel long distances every day to attend schools in suburban areas. Some leave home as early as 4 a.m., spending hours travelling and facing risks to their safety, health and wellbeing.
Meanwhile, schools closer to their homes often struggle with deteriorating infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and limited resources.
We believe these schools have the potential to provide quality education when they receive the support they need.
Every school has a history. Every school has former learners who have gone on to become professionals, entrepreneurs, skilled workers and community leaders. Collectively, these individuals represent an important resource that can contribute to the development of their former schools.
We have seen how schools benefit when communities are actively involved in supporting them. We believe township and rural schools deserve the same commitment and collective action.
Imfundo Yeqophelo exists to turn this belief into action.
We provide a platform that brings former learners together, supports them to establish organised alumni communities, develops their leadership capacity and helps them work with schools to identify and implement meaningful improvement projects.
Our goal is to help build stronger schools within communities, so that children can learn, grow and thrive closer to home.
Every school has alumni. Every alumni community has potential. Together, we can build stronger schools.
We believe that when former learners reconnect, organise themselves and contribute their skills, resources and experience, they can make a meaningful difference to the schools that helped shape their lives.
Pillar 1
Establish and grow structured alumni communities that reconnect former learners with their schools.
IY provides a digital platform where one former learner can initiate an alumni community for their school, invite fellow alumni to join and begin building an organised network committed to school improvement.
Pillar 2
Equip alumni leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to establish, govern and sustain effective alumni organisations.
This includes leadership development, governance, administration, resource mobilisation, accountability and project management.
Pillar 3
Facilitate collaboration between alumni communities and school leadership to identify and prioritise genuine school improvement needs.
IY encourages alumni to work directly with their former schools, ensuring that proposed initiatives respond to actual school priorities and complement existing school development plans.
Pillar 4
Support alumni communities to plan, resource, implement and monitor projects that improve school infrastructure, learning environments and educational opportunities.
IY provides project management and administrative support to ensure that alumni contributions are organised, transparent, accountable and directed towards agreed school improvement priorities.