Pretoria- Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust for continuing to actively improve the quality of teaching and learning, cleaning the schools and streets of Alexandra and supporting child-headed families.
He was speaking on Friday at the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust fundraising dinner held in Johannesburg.
The Trust, which has been in existence for more than a decade, does not only continue to participate in the cleaning of schools and streets in Alexandra, but it is also directly involved in the fight against hunger and indignity where it supports families headed by children or the aged.
“The Trust resonates with the long tradition of self-help and solidarity networks which gave Alexandra such a strong sense of community. In its short history, the Trust is making an impact in the renewal of this community which remains a special place to its residents.
“It has provided bursaries to at least 148 students in critical skills such as derivative trading, chartered accountancy, engineering, law and IT. The Trust is an excellent illustration of how collectively we can contribute to the urgently required skills revolution required by our country economy,” he said.
He said the Trust is an answer to the National Development Plan’s (NDP) call for funding assistance covering tuition, books, accommodation and living allowance to needy and deserving students.
“The Vincent Tshabalala Trust is contributing to this through their Saturday and holiday supplementary classes. These are classes run by graduates who have benefitted from the Trust.
“The Trust is also making an important intervention in assisting learners financially who are still at high school. With our collective commitment and support, the Trust will be in a stronger position, not only to increase the number of learners it currently funds, but also to extend its reach to primary school learners and those who are left out of the early childhood development phase,” he said.
The Deputy President said he hopes that the memory of Vincent Tshabalala and the work that the Trust does will continue to inspire and encourage the youth of Alexandra and the country to take responsibility for their personal progress and development of South Africa. -SAnews.gov.za
