PDP

​All about People Development Projects

 

People's Development Projects (PDP) It is aimed at improving the performance of learners in terms of reading and writing and further providing motivation for them to proceed to institutions of higher learning.Furthermore the organisation aims on improving people’s social lives.
 

PDP came about after a realization that learners from the disadvantaged or previously disadvantaged schools are constantly accused of being lazy and incompetent without consideration of the conditions that lead to their ‘incompetence’. Many young people come from families whereby parents have no capacity to help their children with school work and instill confidence and/ or motivation to contribute to their performance.  This is as a result of (among other things) parents lacking ‘formal’ education, parents working late and also the conditions of households that may make it difficult for children to study. So, with these considerations, the PDP holds the notion that ‘many young people or learners are on their own’, hence it is motivated to step into the lives of those learners and make a difference as far as development is concerned. The PDP has therefore tasked itself to become a brigade that will close the gap (in terms of development and competence) between public and private schools.



However, as much as the PDP is aiming at improving the lives of learners in schools, it is also cognizant of the fact that many learners do pass and finish their matric but end up facing unemployment and lack of access to institutions of higher learning. This is so because many learners lack motivation and access to information, whilst on the other hand some who might have the privilege of getting information may also not have the means. This is to say that many learners do not apply to institutions of higher learning because (among other reasons) they lack access to application forms and money to apply, whilst some of them do not even know the procedure of applying and when to apply. In this case, the PDP aims to provide learners with application forms, information and help them to apply. And most importantly, the PDP also has intentions of getting bursaries for learners and also raising funds for those who cannot afford to pay application fees; in order to ensure that they gain access to institutions of higher learning even when they experience financial constraints.

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This project is run by a group of individuals who have already completed matric and those who are also furthering their studies in institutions of higher learning. However, the stakeholders are, in this case, volunteers. This is so because it aims to attract people who are driven or motivated by ‘a will’ to make a difference in young people’s lives and communities at large. This therefore marks the difference between teachers and the PDP100 volunteers. This is the case because the PDP volunteers do not work according to a timetable and get motivation from receiving some kind of remuneration, but they work according to the progress of learners (without being remunerated). This therefore suggests that PDP is rooted in the development and/or progress of learners.