Kliptown, South Africa (CNN) -- Brian Munyai has spent nearly all of his 22 years living in a small metal shack that has never had electricity or running water. He shares a pit latrine with his neighbors. He bathes in a bucket with water drawn from the communal tap. At night, he reads by an oil lamp. Conditions like this are typical for the nearly 40,000 people who live in the slums of Kliptown, a district in the largely black township of Soweto, South Africa. Generations of families have lived in these ramshackle homes just 15 miles from Johannesburg, the economic capital of the country.
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An after-school program is giving poor South African kids a shot out of poverty
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The Kliptown Youth Program uses education as a tool for empowerment
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Director Thulani Madondo: "We're making kids earn whatever they get"
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Brian Munyai
@placeholder worked hard, however, and in high school, he heard about the Kliptown Youth Program.
Brian Munyai
Madondo, 30, grew up in a family of nine and faced many of the same struggles @placeholder endured.
Thulani Madondo
It's that mentality that @placeholder and several other young Kliptown natives were looking to change when they founded the program five years ago.
Kliptown Youth Program
The deal is simple: Students must agree to stay in school and attend mandatory tutoring sessions twice a week; in exchange, @placeholder agrees to provide uniforms, books and school fees for any student who cannot afford them.
Brian Munyai
So far, 21 members, including @placeholder, have gone on to a university.
Brian Munyai
"It's such a great thing to give back," said @placeholder, who makes time to tutor at least twice a week.