Another year of great results
For High School graduates everywhere, once final results are out, the emotional flip between excitement at starting somewhere new and the fear of the unknown is real.
For the teens on our Infinite Family program, who have worked hard to earn a place at college, those emotions are next level. Not purely because they face the nail-biting wait to find out whether they’ve been granted government funding to cover their costs, but also because the whole world of further education is usually entirely new to them.
Few have family members, or even know anyone, who has attended college. And fewer still have ever been away from home. So the whole eco-system is unfamiliar and – mixed with the thrill of setting out on their journey to an independent future – everything from figuring out class timetables to building new support systems can be overwhelming.
Not that the feeling of overwhelm is anything new. To get to this point, they’ve already overcome the constant challenge of focusing on their schoolwork while juggling household responsibilities, like caring for younger siblings, and avoiding trouble on the streets where gang culture is a real and present danger. Add in frequent power outages while studying and chores like fetching water for the family, and you get the picture …
So you’ll understand how proud we are that since 2008, when Infinite Family was created, 97% of all our mentored 12th graders have qualified for advanced education (21% more than SA overall) and an amazing 87% of them have earned places at top tier universities (27% more than SA overall).
In 2025, the 155 teens on our video mentoring program included 14 Matriculants (12th graders) and, between them, they achieved 9 Bachelors’ degree passes, 4 Tertiary Diploma passes – and 7 distinctions. Unusually, one Net Buddy received a No Pass and we’re helping them prepare to rewrite later this year.
For our teens, and our global Infinite Family members and friends who celebrate their growth, there were some other notable numbers in 2025:
Across our LaunchPads in Johannesburg’s Alexandra and Nkosi Haven communities, and Khayelitsa in Cape Town, our teens built their core Resilience, Resourcefulness and Responsibilty through completion of 6,352 video mentoring sessions, 3,232 hours of homework, research and skills development, and 4,730 teen-initiated activities to advance their English, education and employment skills.
Waiting for placements at: Universities of Cape Town, Free State and Johannesburg, Tshwane University of Technology, Stellenbosch University, Vaal University of Technology, University of Venda, Gauteng City College, Witts University, University of Pretoria and many more public and private colleges. Our Net Buddies’ chosen areas of student include: Business management, Education, Occupational Therapy, Chemical Science, Dental Care, Civil Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Sports Management, Education, Human Resources, Marketing, Agriculture, and IT.