EDUCATION & TRAINING
This programme is at the core of BST’s vision – investing in people leads to them inspiring larger numbers of people to be part of the solution to local challenges; and they in turn, invest in future generations. Our partners’ support programmes ensure as many children as possible get the chance to finish school. We then assist as many as funding allows to access tertiary education or training. By way of context, 2009 is the first year that mathematics was compulsory at South African schools. Many children still complete their schooling without studying English. These deficits make it very difficult for the poorest children to do well enough to find jobs after school, or go to college. For young people who have disabilities, it is almost impossible.
Through a range of partners in high schools, universities, training institutions and centres, BST supports more than 300 people every year to get to the next level – be that a degree in business, a high school bursary for talented children, or IT training which leads to employment. Tecford Enablement Centre trains and employs 60 people who need special assistance to fulfil their potential to generate income.
For over 20 years we have invested in people all over South Africa. We know this way of supporting local people works for the long term. The rewards of seeing people reach levels of success they never thought possible are priceless. When that success repeats itself through inspiring others, you know your investment transformed lives.
- A university scholarship at CIDA City Campus costs £2500 a year.
- Training 10 unemployed youth in computer skills at the Huddleston Centre costs £1500. BST aims to support 180 young people each year.
Partners
- Trevor Huddleston Centre, Sophiatown, Gauteng.
- Tecford Enablement Centre, Klerksdorp, North West Province.
- High Schools and Universities.
- Community based training programmes (e.g. training Early Childhood teachers).
Case Study – Mbali
Mbali Malinga, 23, graduated from CIDA City Campus (a university partner of the Bishop Simeon Trust) in April 2008. Tragically Mbali was orphaned at a young age, along with her two sisters, Sithembile and Xoli and has been supported by the Trust’s main partner, HABSR, since that time. Mbali completed her Bachelors in Business Administration with distinction and she is now into her second year as a graduate intern at a major South African company called Nampak. The job means she can start supporting her younger sister Xoli for tertiary education too – a perfect example of how the benefits of one bursary has cascaded through an entire family. She has renovated the family home in rural Mpumalanga and has started to save for her future.