Monday 15 July dawned as a freezing day in Komani (formerly Queenstown), but the bright blue domed sky lifted my mood and countered my irritation at the wind whipping my hair across my face. I was in the town to visit the 11 schools supported by the Education Endowment Fund (EEF), by way of distributing 1965Ride bursaries to 15 talented learners. These bursaries are made possible by the efforts of the 1965Ride team, a group of amateur cyclists who ride 850km from Heidelberg in Gauteng to Komani in the Eastern Cape each year and who must each raise a minimum of R30 000 for the privilege of participating in this grueling adventure.
Fellow EEF board member, Tony Frost and I were being given a whirlwind tour of Komani by Queenstown Education Foundation (QEF) Director of Programmes, Fundraising and Stakeholder Relations, Jacqueline Wijtenburg. She had lined up two days of visits with the principals of Balmoral Girls’ Primary, Get Ahead College, Hoërskool Hangklip, Laerskool Hangklip, Queens College Boys’ High, Queens College Boys’ Primary, Queenstown Get Ahead, Queenstown Girls’ High, Southbourne Primary, Stepping Stone Junior and Whittlesea Get Ahead Project. We were on a tight schedule, with only time for quick tours of the school facilities given by proud principals or their deputies, and the occasional cup of hot coffee in a snug office as we heard about their daily successes and challenges in managing their schools.
A consistent theme was minimal support from government because all these schools charge fees. I was struck by one school which had been waiting months for the education department to provide desks (yes, desks!) and eventually had their own made. But just as consistent was the passion and vision of each and every principal – unfailingly wanting to do more and provide more for their learners, educators and staff.
I was impressed that in such a small town, with limited resources and a small donor community, it was possible for funds to be raised for new netball courts, modern classrooms, computer labs, a hockey astroturf, a brand new tartan athletics track (the first to be built by a school in South Africa), and other assorted educational necessities that one takes for granted would be provided by an education department.
A visit to the QEF-IT hub was also illuminating. Here, in a small room on the Queen’s College premises, sits the nerve centre of QEF’s IT infrastructure which has created a digital backbone that enhances IT cost efficiencies and innovative initiatives between eight other Komani school brands. These brands collaborate with each other, and a school located beyond Komani. Many of the 1965Ride bursary recipients benefit from this IT infrastructure in their classrooms. IT managers have built a sophisticated Metropolitan Area Network for which they bulk buy and distribute fibre internet and maintain a safe firewall for learners, teachers and staff, together with monitoring a 24/7 ‘always on’ firewall. They are an outsourced IT department if you like, providing the eight schools with a central team and all the technology and support needed to offer each school’s staff and learners state of the art IT infrastructure, as well as constant research and development for best practice in digitising classrooms. It was not something I was expecting to see and it reinforced my view, formed over my two day visit, that being a small town or a government school does not preclude one from creating something innovative.
The finale of the two day visit to this bustling, yet struggling (days of electricity blackouts had recently left a severe impact), town was a lunchtime event to recognise the 15 bursary recipients for their achievements and to hand them each a certificate and details of their bursary. As a representative of the EEF which disburses the funds raised by the 1965Ride, I was deeply humbled to be part of this ceremony. It was not lost on me that lessening the financial burden in a small way has a large impact on the bursar and their family.
I left Komani with many feelings: extreme gratitude for my many blessings over the course of my life, admiration for the learners who prevail despite challenging circumstances, respect for the principals who guide their schools with purpose and strong values. And hope. Witnessing the ripple effect of the collective efforts of a small group in one microcosm in South Africa, filled me with hope – that there are many people who have vision and energy and who are willing and able to harness that for something bigger than themselves, means South Africa has a bright future.
Ashley Truscott
Chairman
Education Endowment Fund
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The purpose of the EEF is to promote and provide the financial resources to support the growth of quality education and to give effect to the education objectives of the 1965Ride. This is achieved through the provision of education bursaries for talented but disadvantaged learners from schools that are members of the Queenstown Education Foundation.