As of 2026 Awarenet is implementing the YearBeyond program in Makhanda, employing 30 people between the ages of 18 and 25 to run literacy and numeracy programs in local primary schools for a year.

All the young people employed – called “Yeboneers” – were in neither employment, education nor training (NEET) prior to their entry into YearBeyond, with the program striving to combat the extremely high unemployment figures in South Africa. Implemented in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, the program has its eyes on the “year beyond” for the Yeboneers, dedicating one day of the week to personal mentoring and work-readiness training. This takes place each Friday at Awarenet’s premises at the Joza Youth Hub and is coordinated by Awarenet’s dedicated YearBeyond mentor. The goal is to have the large majority of the young people either employed, studying or running their own businesses in the year after their one-year stint with YearBeyond ends.

On the other days of the week, the Yeboneers are stationed all day at local schools, running the Catch-Up program, which is tailored to improve functional literacy and numeracy in South African schools. The central focus of the Yeboneers is to conduct one-on-one reading and numeracy sessions with learners in grades 3 and 4. In addition, they assist teachers with classroom activities. Each Yeboneer is responsible for around 12 learners, giving personalised support to learners who are selected based on their need for additional interventions in reading and mathematics. In total, the program therefore includes around 360 learners from four underprivileged schools.

Through the program, we therefore combat two evils prevalent in South African communities at once: high youth unemployment and low functional literacy and numeracy among our learners.