Cape Town - A Langa-based non-profit organisation, Just Grace, was awarded the coveted 2021 Human Rights Prize of the Republic of France by the Ambassador of France to South Africa, Aurélien Lechevallier, on behalf of the French Republic during a ceremony at the Alliance Francaise du Cap on Monday.
The award, which aimed to acknowledge actions on the ground and projects relating to the effective protection and promotion of human rights, recognised Just Grace’s efforts to reduce school dropout in Langa through their inclusive community-based programme during the Covid19 pandemic.
“In the context of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased risk of children dropping out of school, the organisation designed an inclusive community-based programme to reduce dropout.
“This programme is designed to address drop-out in the early stages by identifying early warnings and supporting the learners as best as possible through the implementation of a personalised development plan,” said the representative.
The French Human Rights Commission received a record number of applications and the jury had to select winners and special mentions from 260 projects across 68 countries on all continents.
Five organisations across the world were awarded the prize, including Just Grace in South Africa.
“We are humbled and grateful at the recognition of our efforts towards the protection and promotion of human rights. We appreciate the French government’s dedication to the promotion of human rights in South Africa,” said Just Grace executive director Grant Edmond.
The NPO runs three programmes aimed at empowering the community of Langa, which take place under their theory of change, to ultimately ensure the activities run result in measurable outcomes being achieved.
“The programmes address societal ills that prevent residents of Langa from realising their rights. They do this by promoting access to quality education, psychosocial support and technical training and equipping community members to participate as active citizens in the economy,” said Grant.
With this prize, Lechevallier said France wished to support individual and collective actions that upheld and realised human rights in the world and recognised the fundamental role played by civil society in the promotion and protection of these rights.
Accepting the award from the ambassador, Just Grace business development officer Lindiwe Kers said their mission was to engage in people-centred community empowerment initiatives that contribute to meaningful and sustainable change in Langa.
Kers said their learning engagement programme aimed to reduce school drop out and foster lifelong learning as South Africa was dealing with a considerable dropout crisis.
“By final year, only 50% of learners in South Africa were still enrolled in school; only 32% to 40% that are enrolled pass the national matric exam due to absenteeism and other disengagement factors.
“Worryingly, during the pandemic there was a high increase in the number of children dropping out of school – it is recorded that an additional 750 000 learners did not return to school,” said Kers.
