Masupatsela

TSiBA
DIRECTED by JANE KENNEDY
EDITED by TINA-LOUISE SMITH
TX 10 August 2009

TSiBA (Tertiary School in Business Administration) was the dream of inspired individuals who believed that a shortage of funds should not stand in the way of opportunities to further education. In this story we meet Leigh Meinert and Fatima Abrahams who were there in the beginning and ensured that the idea of providing free tertiary education to underprivileged students became a reality. Working in a team of people who were driven by vision and passion, they have been able to establish TSiBA, have their first batch of graduates, and now also offer a degree that is accredited by the Department of Education in the Western Cape.

TSiBA is based on a pay-it-forward philosophy, which means that instead of paying money for their education, students are expected to pay the good fortune that TSiBA gives to them, on to someone else. Students mentor or counsel others in their communities and at their school and this attitude of supporting others becomes a part of the way they interact with the world.

Charne Fortune, Nqobile Bengu, Sikhumbule Sambudla and Zakiyah Toefy are some of the TSiBA students we meet who have benefited from this pioneering education model.

TO LEARN MORE OR CONTRIBUTE TO TSiBA:
visit the TSiBA web site or phone them on +27 21 532 2750.

IN ORDER TO GET THIS PROJECT OFF THE GROUND, THESE TRAILBLAZERS:
- dared to dream of a different way to approach education
- planned and recruited passionate people for their team for almost a year
- structured their curriculum
- worked out selection criteria for applicants
- approached the Shuttleworth Foundation for funding
- once they were certain that they had everything in place, they opened their doors to the first students
- they now offer a degree which is accredited by the Western Cape Department of Education

PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE FURTHER IMAGES FROM THE TSiBA STORY

MTT
DIRECTED by LESEDI MOGOATLHE
EDITED by RUAN SCHWARTZ
TX 10 August 2009

MTT is a project named after the three villages in Limpopo that benefit and contribute to the project: Madzivhanani, Tshidongololo and Tshithuthuni. MTT is the brain child of Mr Ravhura and Dr Phaswana. Mr Ravhura realised that many of the local youths were unable to afford university fees and were either dropping out of university or not applying to attend. As a result there were many youths hanging around with nothing to do, or turning to crime to survive.

Mr Ravhura decided to do something about the problem, met with Dr Phaswana, the two of them put their heads together and with their determination to help develop the young people of the area – and in so doing, the area itself – MTT was born in 2005. MTT raises funds from within the communities and from local businesses, which are then pooled and shared amongst the youth who would like to attend university.

In their first year they raised R3 000 to share amongst all the students who wanted to attend university. An aspect of this project that ensures development of young people, is that each person who has benefited from MTT’s sponsorhip, is expected to donate either their time or some of their income to assist another young person at MTT.

TO LEARN MORE OR CONTRIBUTE TO MTT:
call Mr Ravhura on +27 82 417 4427.

TO GET THIS ORIGINAL PROJECT GOING, THESE TRAILBLAZERS:
- approached locals to draw their attention to the problem
- the community held a fundraising event for the first group of students
- they approached local business people for more funds
- young people who have benefitted from the project donate some of their time or their income to the project to ensure that more young people can go to university.

SCREEN GRABS FROM THE TSiBA AND MTT STORIES: