Schools can make a difference, and not only through formal education. Since 2020, Christel House and the Julius Baer Foundation have been working to build social capital through experiential activities among disadvantaged and privileged schools in Cape Town. Their Simunye (‘we are one’) programme bridges the gap, fostering relationships needed for strong social capital for all children, regardless of their background.
After four years, Christel House has compiled their learnings into a book for educators, corporations and community leaders interested in shaping healthier societies, more diverse workplaces and stronger economies. We spoke with Adri Marais, CEO of the organisation in Cape Town, to learn about their insights and plans for the future.
Adri, can you describe how you experience inequality every day in Cape Town?
If you live in Cape Town, you will experience inequality many times in one day. For me it starts with my daily drive to work, seeing how the quality of the roads and the cars gradually decreases. This is a daily reminder of the inequality hardwired into our existence. I see it as a blessing, because different experiences build understanding and empathy – a necessary ingredient for building equity and understanding each other.
But connecting with people who look and speak differently from you is actually very difficult in South Africa. During apartheid, there were many layers of separation: the colour of your skin determined not just who you could love and mix with, but also where you were allowed to live. To this day, the geographical separation exists in a way that is difficult to change. For example, to access the township of Langa, there was just one road, making it easy for the police to isolate 60,000 people by blocking off one road. Today that road still exists. There is just a train track between Langa and Pinelands, an affluent suburb with fabulous houses and schools. They are literally 100 metres apart, but these people never see each other.
We always think we know about other people, who they are and what they think, what their values are. But it is really important to stress that: if one doesn’t connect, this reinforces prejudices, assumptions and stereotypes, that can really only be addressed if people have the opportunity to interact and engage with each other.
How do wealth and education inequality affect the prosperity and development of the country?
The extremely unequal society affects everyone in the country – rich and poor alike feel unsafe and insecure, but the poor suffer more as they lack the resources to escape the life they inherited.
Wealth and income inequality reinforce education inequality. South Africa is a country whose top private education system competes worldwide. They prepare world leaders and provide their alumni with knowledge and networks able to open any door. At the opposite end of the spectrum is our poorest, most under-resourced public schools, unable to have access to resources like quality teachers.
Sadly, 30 years post-apartheid, learning outcomes are still not determined by ability or as the result of hard work, but instead by the skin colour, province of birth and the wealth of their parents. The consequence is we are not able to pull on all potential talent available in the country. It is a huge talent pool, but we don’t have access to it and the talent pool doesn’t have access to opportunities.
How did the Simunye idea come about?
The inspiration came from the Julius Baer Foundation’s approach to tackling wealth inequality, which totally speaks to our mission of enabling upward economic mobility in a world where you are not defined by your poverty. In 2020, we organised a single Derby Day where children of one privileged and two disadvantaged schools met to interact and play.
After that success, however, it became apparent that a one-day event would not suffice to build a long-term connection. We decided to widen our impact to benefit children in their journey to adulthood, the world of work and ultimately upward economic activity.
It was equally important to provide exposure to children from the upper side of the wealth spectrum to the experiences, deep humanity and commonalities between themselves and children who come from poor backgrounds. When this penny drops, the foundations of a more equitable world are laid.
We worked on a three-year project, learning and continuously adjusting along the way. We organised trailblazer groups involving 10 children from 5 schools and redesigned the day to allow them to experience each other through common interactive activities.
The end piece was to also engage the parents to activate the ‘home-school nexus,’ because there cannot be sustainable change without home involvement. It worked. People largely don’t have the opportunity to mix across racial lines and social classes. So, to take a person out of their comfort zone and put them in a circle to discuss things with people who are different from you, has been phenomenal. One of the activities required the parents to sit one-on-one and share a story of themselves overcoming adversity. It was an eye-opening moment, each one realising that the other is experiencing the same deep feelings and concerns.
Suddenly one’s heart develops empathy for “other”. It is at this point that prejudice and assumptions decrease. Most of our parents who attended our last Derby Day were pleased they came and over half felt that they made a friend that day.
How did you engage affluent school partners?
In the case of Rondenbosch, a boys’ school, the principal was a connection of our principal. He immediately jumped on board: “I get it. This is absolutely critical, and it is what we want. We are in.”
In the second year of the programme, I managed to arrange a call with the CEO of St Cyprians, a girls’ school, and then it was amazing: within three minutes, she stopped my pitch and again: “I’m in. We are desperate for something like this, and we do not have an idea of how to get this going.” The wealthier the schools, the harder it was to engage them, but not through lack of commitment. All reactions showed that there’s a high level of awareness of how the Simunye approach can improve life in South Africa, and there is a hunger for change.
Four years down the road, what are the key highlights?
Looking at the cohort of students who participated, we see that these communities are building a shared value system, producing confident, multicultural citizens. We mobilised 350 children, 200 parents, and 50 teachers. 90% of learners said they feel more confident, and their relationship-building skills improved in multicultural settings. 66% of them said they had made a new friend during the programme and 59% of parents said they felt much more comfortable when surrounded by people from different races.
Our Simunye final victory lap was in the form of an Indaba (gathering). In April 2024, we hosted over 50 leading principals in the Western Cape to share our experience: 96% expressed their intention to join the programme.
In our plan for 2025 we want to build the ‘2.0’ model according to our learnings. We want to engage a smaller number of learners for deeper interactions, including a 48-hour camp, where they can tackle tasks from beginning to conclusion: from baking cookies to finding solutions for a Sustainable Development Goal. We will increase the frequency of parent workshops. And it is essential to provide school coordinators with greater support, including leadership development opportunities. Their dedication is essential for the success of the programme, but they are so overworked and understaffed!
Do you think the Simunye model can be replicated in other schools or even elevated at national level?
Yes, indeed this is what we aim to inspire through our book. Sharing the experience and inviting others to have the confidence to jump on board. Of course, funding is key. However, the continuation of the project envisions 12 schools, naturally growing by pushing the resources in different directions.
Dreaming big: what is the future of Simunye?
I have two big dreams. First, my dream is generally for the education system: that it could be less focused on the actual curriculum. We keep spending an immense amount of time teaching kids so much content that is already stored in our smartphones. I dream that we get less obsessed by that and shift towards the skills that really mould children, such as building up networks, building characters, leadership skills, having tough conversations, how to add value in the world of work. I long for a readjustment focused on what is required in the 21st century.
And for Simunye, my dream is that it becomes known and part of the offering in the school system, accepted by people as a brand. This would mean that other schools could decide to integrate some of its components in their programmes, helping their students to build the cultural and social capital they need to gain and grasp opportunities throughout their lives.