SPEECH BY CHAIRPERSON OF THE VINCENT TSHABALALA EDUCATION TRUST, PAUL MASHATILE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRUST
18 October 2014
Programme Director,
Members of the Vincent Tshabalala family
Our sponsors, friends and partners
Teachers and Principals from various schools in Alex
Beneficiaries of the Trust, here present
Members of the Board of Trustees
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Today is a day of celebration!
We are here to celebrate the many and remarkable achievements of the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust, since its establishment in 2004.
Today is also a day of reflection; where we are called upon to pause and look back on the journey we have travelled since the launch of the Trust.
We are also here to recommit ourselves to the goal of defending and deepening the proud legacy of Comrade Vincent Tshabalala, in whose name and hounour the Trust was established.
This important day belongs to our sponsors, friends and partners as well as those who make monthly debit order contributions; those who make annual pledges; those who enable teachers to have a decent cup of coffee or tea by providing monthly groceries to our schools; those who have partnered with us in supporting targeted families and children; those that volunteer their skills and knowledge and those that give of their time to support the work of the Trust.
To all of you we say thank you for travelling this journey with us.
We look forward to your continued support as we move along this journey.
On this important day we wish to thank and pay tribute to the Tshabalala family for allowing us the opportunity to use the tragic death of their loved one to the benefit of the community of Alexandra.
This day also belongs to the beneficiaries of the Trust.
To all of you we say: we are proud of you.
Your hard work has paid off and now you are ready to reap the fruits of the seeds you planted.
You are our pride and the pride of our community.
All of you are a shining example of what the Trust has achieved.
It is you we are referring to when we talk about the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust Fund family; a proud family that continues to grow.
You are an inspiration to your peers and we look forward to your ongoing contribution to the Trust and to the community of Alexandra.
On this day we are also celebrating the enduring partnerships we have established over the years with community structures, the private sector and individuals in support of our work.
These include partnerships with local community radio stations and newspapers as well as private sector companies that continue to offer internship and learnership opportunities to our graduates.
Programme Director, it is of particular significance that our tenth anniversary celebrations are taking place here at the Johannesburg Central College; the place where we launched the Trust on the 24th of September 2004.
Also of significance is that not far from here is the place where Comrade Vincent tragically lost his life.
In a way, therefore, we have come back to where it all started.
We are at a place where we can reconnect with origins of the Trust and with what inspires its work.
We are also at a place where we can draw strength as we prepare to move forward to intensify the work of the Trust.
The past ten years have been a period of dedicated service to empower the community of Alexandra through education.
The road we have travelled has not been easy.
But thanks to the support of our sponsors, friends, partners and the community of Alex we were able to soldier on.
We take this opportunity, once more, to thank our sponsors, our friend, our partners and the community of Alex for their ongoing commitment and support to the work of the Trust.
Without all of your generous contributions and support we would not have reached this important milestone of our tenth anniversary.
Going forward we will continue to rely on your support as week seek to make more impact through the work of the Trust.
In the ten years of its existence, the Trust has provided inspiration to many learners and teachers in Alex.
It has encouraged them to work hard and reach for their dreams in the full knowledge that their hard work will be greatly rewarded.
Over the years of our existence we have contributed in opening the doors of learning to many hardworking and deserving students from Alex.
We have given our hard working learners a head-start in life and we have offered then an opportunity to better citizens.
We have also incentivised teachers many of whom go beyond the call of duty, on a daily basis, often without acknowledgement and recognition.
We have also contributed in improving the learning and teaching conditions in many schools in Alexandra.
Through the work of the Trust we have succeeded in building a movement for good; a movement for community empowerment and a movement towards a better life for all.
Indeed as we look back on the journey we have travelled we do so with pride that as a Trust we have touched, in a positive way, the lives of many learners and teachers in Alex.
We have given them a reason to excel in their studies and in the work that they do.
We have given them a reason to dream big, in the knowledge that their dreams will come true.
Programme Director, we mark the tenth anniversary of the Trust during a year which is of significance to us as a Trust in more ways than one.
They year 2014, the year of our tenth anniversary, is also the year in which Comrade Vincent “Toivo” Tshabalala would have turned fifty years.
This year also marks twenty nine years since Vincent died heroically in an epic battle with the apartheid forces on the 9th of February 1985.
His death and that of many others like him has made it possible for us to enjoy freedom and democracy.
As we celebrate twenty years of this freedom and democracy, we do so fully aware that it came at an enormous cost to Vincent, his family and many in our communities.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we who are beneficiaries of the supreme sacrifices of Comrade Vincent and many others, have an obligation and a responsibility to defend our freedom and democracy.
This among others requires that we continue to open up opportunities for our young people to access education.
Programme Director our tenth anniversary celebrations began early this year under the theme; “Promoting Community Solidarity and Dignity: One family at a time.”
Some of the activities undertaken as part of our tenth birthday celebrations include:
1.The collection and distribution of underwear to one hundred and fifty children at Emfundisweni Primary school. This follows the distribution in 2013 of school shoes in partnership with Wachizungu and the Put foot Foundation.
2.Inspired by Mandela Day, we launched Mandela Weekend (18th to 20th July) and adopted ten child and granny headed families which we have committed to supporting until Mandela Day 2015. In addition, twenty families received groceries. Some homes were cleaned, repainted and plumbing and electrical work was done. Through this act of solidarity we are contributing to restoring the dignity of members of our community.
3. Yesterday we handed over a renovated staff room, staff kitchen and school kitchen to Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School. This we did as a reward for the school’s excellent performance in the Matric Class of 2013. The school achieved an impressive total pass rate of 97.6%. In the previous year they recorded a pass rate of 65.34%. The total value of the improvements we made at the school was more or less R 86500.
Programme Director, we also count among the many successes of the Trust the fact that since our establishment in 2004 the total number of bursaries we have awarded has reached one hundred and twenty six.
To date thirty two of our beneficiaries have graduated, mostly in the fields of Maths, Science, Engineering and Accounting.
An increasing number of these graduates are pursuing their Honours and Masters studies.
We continue to recognise and award prizes to the best performing grade tens and elevens, many of whom go on to become the best performing Grade twelves.
Our ongoing initiatives include;
- The development and updating of school websites
- The promotion of interschool debates
- Promoting a culture of community service by our beneficiaries and other young people
Equally, the Trust continues to mobilize South Africans from all walks of life to put their collective shoulder to the wheel in ongoing efforts to improve the lives of the community of Alex.
This we do through initiatives such as our Adopt a Granny or Child-headed household and the donation of essentials to needy learners.
We also take this opportunity to thank all our beneficiaries for their continued association and support of the Trust.
Programme Director we are satisfied that through the work of the Trust we are succeeding in preserving and upholding the proud legacy of our Comrade Vincent Tshabalala.
We are succeeding in turning the tragic event of his death into an opportunity and a vehicle to empower the young people of Alex through education.
In his name and honour we are making a difference in the lives of many young people of Alex; something Vincent would have wanted us to do.
Let us enjoy today’s celebrations. We have all earned them.
Most importantly, let us use this occasion to rededicate ourselves to the work of the Trust and to the ideals for which Comrade Vincent sacrificed his life for.
Thank you.
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