Annual Report 2020

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

In 2020, we saw the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across every sphere of society; unemployment rates grew to well over 40%, our already-broken education system struggled as online learning continued in only 6% of schools during the lockdown, and mothers and young children were significantly impacted as they faced additional challenges in feeding their families, increased levels of violence, and additional barriers in accessing healthcare. At Common Good, most of the laid plans for 2020 became obsolete. In order to walk alongside the most vulnerable in our society, we had to react – quickly.

As you read this report, we trust that you will be freshly inspired by the resilience of this organisation, and all that has been achieved to enable transformative and lasting change in the lives of thousands across our city, province, and country.

2020 HIGHLIGHTS
  • Sikunye, our Early Life initiative, grew meaningfully despite the challenges. We adapted readily, creating resources to support caregivers facing months of lockdown isolation. We also moved all of our events online, growing our reach from the greater Cape Town area all the way to Nkomazi in Mpumalanga.
    In Education we innovated in our delivery of online content for our non-fee-paying schools. Soon after the first lockdown at least some form of online learning was offered to the schools we were working in. We focused on helping the matric class of Silikamva High through the year with excellent results – the 2020 matric pass rate showed a 21% increase over that of 2019!
  • The Zanokhanyo Network, our Employment programme, with no possibilities of in-person training, focused on staying connected to our graduates. We took this opportunity to completely re-design our curriculum, making it more customised and video-based. At the end of 2020 this new curriculum was implemented and close to 200 people still graduated. Additionally, we made inroads into the development of a replication model, to expand our reach.
  • Our Congregational Support Team had a highly productive year, supporting churches on many topical issues of justice, and delivering practical poverty relief. Over R42 000 was raised for food relief for our most vulnerable beneficiaries, and over 7000 masks were distributed by the team.

Please download the report to read more about each of our programmes, and what they achieved, hear from some of our beneficiaries, and celebrate stories of transformation.