The programme of the 2017 MBE Christmas party included an actuarial-related raffle for a bottle of champagne, with all money raised going to a very worthy cause: the Jakes Gerwel Technical High School in Bonnievale South Africa.
The school was established by the community of Bonnievale in partnership with the provincial Department of Education to tackle the chronic shortage of high schools in their area.
The project is our community’s answer to a crisis that exists throughout South Africa: a chronic shortage of high schools spells a bleak future for thousands of disadvantaged children in rural areas. These children would have had to travel to neighbouring towns for high school, making them much more likely to drop out altogether.
The people of Bonnievale tackled the crisis head-on, joining hands across racial and socio-economic divides and setting out to raise R55 million to build their own school. In the process, they created a partnership with the provincial Department of Education that is hailed as ‘the answer for South Africa’.
Named after Prof Jakes Gerwel, the son of farm workers who became a great South African leader and confidant of Mr Nelson Mandela, the Jakes Gerwel Technical High School is established to be on par with the top private schools of the country with top facilities and leadership and, to this end, the contribution made by MBE staff will go towards funding a much-needed data projector for the school.
For more information on the school, please contact Bonnievale resident, qualified actuary and JGE Funding Trust Trustee, Wilhelm de Wet, at [email protected].
Image (c) Shutterstock | Andreas Prott
