Overview

Khayelitsha is the largest township in the Cape Flats and the third largest in South Africa. Since 1994 with the change of government in South Africa there have been noticeable changes in Khayelitsha, such as brick houses, running water and electricity in some of the areas. Since Khayelitsha is largely under-developed and the largest township in the Cape Flats it attracts funding and partnerships which international companies, Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and Government. All these entities have one goal and that is to help better the inhabitants of Khayelitsha.

SHAWCO is a student run UCT organisation which looks at helping the young inhabitants of Khayelitsha better prepare themselves for finding work and gaining access in Tertiary institutions in the future. Through a number of programs such as STEP, SMART and IT the students of the surrounding area are tutored by UCT student volunteers at the K2 Center

The SHAWCO IT Project was established at the K2 Center in 2002 with a large expansion in 2004 as the computer center was built. With roughly 80 volunteers the center tutors 90 grades 8 – grade 10 basic computer literacy in Khayelitsha. The participants have between 2 – 4 hours of volunteer interaction a week during 1 or 2 sessions. The IT Project teaches participants how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Power point, Outlook and internet for a variety of tasks