How Social and Emotional Learning Is Changing Young Lives
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At the Kariega Foundation, our Youth Development Practitioners (YDPs) teach Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in two partner schools, so that children develop the skills to thrive within them, despite challenging life circumstance.
“Every young person has the ability to develop the tools to thrive.” That belief sits at the heart of the programme. Education is not only about what children know. It is also about how they cope, connect, communicate and grow.
Across the communities we serve, many children carry more into the classroom than schoolbags. Trauma and everyday hardship can make it difficult to concentrate, to trust, or to believe in their own potential. SEL meets that need directly, building the emotional literacy for effective self-management, healthy relationships and the decision making skills needed to navigate life, in the classroom and beyond it.
Why SEL Matters in Under-Resourced Communities
In under-resourced schools, the barriers to learning often start long before a lesson begins. Many learners are quietly carrying trauma or adversity, and it takes time and trust to open up about it, even with a caring Youth Development Practitioner (YDP) close by. Without that trust and the space to regulate the emotional overwhelm of what they are carrying, hardship can show up as poor concentration, disruptive behaviour, or simply switching off from school.
This is exactly the gap SEL is designed to close. By building the SEL core competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building and responsible decision making, directly into the school week, the programme gives learners practical tools for focus, motivation and resilience, support that better-resourced schools can often take for granted. It also promotes empathy, understanding and respect for diversity, helping to create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment where a child's ability to concentrate, connect and succeed depends less on what they have access to at home, and more on what we can offer them at school. SEL is also used in our sport programmes, where kids use their skills on and off the sport field to achieve success and overcome obstacles.
A Growing Programme
Here is the programme of our two partner schools, at a glance:
- 961 learners reached across both schools, from grade 1 to grade 7
- Ekuphumleni: 3 YDPs, 498 learners, grades 1–7, 88 SEL sessions a month
- Nompucuko: 3 YDPs, 463 learners, grades 1–6, 96 SEL sessions a month
- 6 YDPs and 184 SEL sessions combined every month across both schools
- Curriculum: COOL TO BE ME, alongside the CAPS Life Skills and Life Orientation framework
- 68 sessions a week of Physical Education, built to reinforce the same lessons of focus, teamwork and resilience
Session by session, the goal is simple: practical tools for school, friendships, family life, conflict, loss, pressure and change. These are not extras. They are foundational life skills that support wellbeing, confidence and future success.
Finding Their Voice at Ekuphumleni
Through SEL lessons, learners at Ekuphumleni Primary are growing in confidence, communication and resilience. Role play and public speaking activities have encouraged children who once hesitated to stand in front of others to now share stories, read aloud, and write on the board without hesitation. They are learning that mistakes are part of learning, not something to fear, a shift that is shaping a more positive, connected classroom for everyone.
What Teachers and Parents Are Seeing
Partner schools have fully integrated SEL into their annual teaching plans, where learners have shown improved reading confidence, reciting programme mottos from memory. Parents are telling us they notice the difference at home too, in behaviour and in schoolwork. Even our own YDP team applies SEL competencies in their daily work, a reminder that these are life skills, not just classroom tools.
SEL helps young people understand their emotions, manage stress, make responsible decisions, build healthy relationships, and develop resilience when life feels difficult.
Looking to the Future
The next chapter of our SEL journey is already beginning. The Kariega Foundation has started training educators at Klipfontein Primary School, where teachers have identified a clear need for Social and Emotional Learning within their school and wider community. Our long-term goal is to expand SEL into all eight primary schools across the four communities we serve, giving more children access to the emotional tools, confidence and resilience they need to thrive. It is another example of what Conservation Through Community means to us: our responsibility and our care do not stop at the boundaries of the reserve, but extend into the communities that surround it, helping to build a stronger future for people, wildlife and the landscapes we share.
Get Involved
You can help us reach more learners with this programme:
- Donate: Your gift goes directly toward funding our Youth Development Practitioners and the SEL sessions they run each week at Ekuphumleni and Nompucuko.
- Book a safari: Every stay at Kariega Game Reserve includes a conservation levy that flows directly back into programmes like this one.
- Volunteer with us: Join our Conservation Through Community Volunteer Programme and get hands-on with education alongside conservation, research and community development.
Thank you to every donor, partner and guest who makes this work possible. Together, we are helping young people build the tools to thrive.
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