What difference has it made for the children of Mzinto Primary School – the first school you raised funding for? 

The impact is huge.

Mzinto Primary School is a rural school situated outside Mount Frere within the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The Wesolve4x team first visited the school on 5th August 2021 to introduce their extracurricular maths and grocery hamper campaign.

Tsietsi told us how their plan evolved, ”prior to my visit, I had read how a five-year-old pupil had fallen into a pit toilet at his school on 20 January 2014 and drowned, which was shocking but as so often happens seemed unreal. But unbelievably, whilst we were at the school I witnessed a grade R (4-6 years old) learner falling into a latrine pit with other pupils and teachers having to rescue the child. I was left traumatised by the experience knowing that the child could have died. The experience made me realise we needed to help.”

”We left Mzinto Primary School with a clear understanding of the fear the parents and teachers carried daily for these young learners.”

Tsietsi Ngobese, Wesolve4x

What began as an initiative to adopt the school as part of the Wesolve4x #BecomeAnActuary maths programme, quickly evolved to become a mission to raise funds to build safe toilets for the school. With it being during the Covid pandemic it was a tough year to raise funds, but by November 2022 we had reached our target and started building the new block.

For the first time in 115 years, learners can now go to the toilet without the constant fear of unsafe and unsanitary pit latrine toilets. Teachers no longer have to disrupt their lessons to accompany learners to ensure their safety. Together we have restored dignity to the teachers, learners and parents of the Mzinto Community.

Why has it become so important for you and Wesolve4x to replace the toilets at so many more schools?

So far we have visited 35 schools in Mount Frere all facing the same challenge as Mzinto Primary School. The focus for the Wesolve4x team is to teach maths to children in a safe environment and allow them to dream beyond their poverty, hunger and current realities.  

What is your end goal for this ‘Help Build Toilets Campaign’?

Our end goal is to stop all school toilets in South Africa from being death traps and to build safe toilets for all learners.

How can people help with this campaign?

Wesolve4x have set up a toilet paper production factory so that they can raise funds to build safe toilets for more schools. MBE Consulting is proud to support this campaign. If you would like to contribute you can buy Ntofo toilet paper within South Africa or you can donate on the Wesolve4x website. You can also help by providing your skills and/or technology to build safe toilets in water-stricken areas and collaborate with us to help build the toilets using the smartest methods.

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The school serves 1000+ local students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The dedicated teaching staff are passionate about providing an exceptional education for students, some of whom may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend high school.

The school offers a wide-ranging curriculum that includes vocational subjects such as carpentry, hairdressing, and mechanics alongside many academic subjects.

In addition to the fantastic teaching, classrooms and workshops, Shaun and Kyaw were stunned by the extracurricular facilities that give the children the opportunity to explore and develop their skills in areas such as sport, music, art and horticulture.

“What makes JGT school remarkable is that the quality of teaching, facilities and culture match any fee-paying school in South Africa and yet it is free to attend.” Shaun Lawson, Managing Director South Africa

Shaun Lawson, Director

Shaun and Kyaw met with the students who were not only enthusiastic about their studies they took real pride in their school.

‘’I was blown away by the quality of teaching and facilities, but what topped that was to see the dedication, pride and joy the children get from learning and being part of the school.’’

Kyaw Soe Thein, Senior Actuarial Manager

We are so impressed by the commitment of the JGT team to provide a world-class education for their students and we are proud to be associated with such an outstanding school. The school has built a culture and curriculum of vocational and academic courses, providing a complete education programme that offers a springboard into adulthood and the workforce for every child.

Learn more about JGT school here

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For MBE this achievement signifies our continued commitment to integrating the principles of B-BBEE across our business.    

Providing a safe, sustainable, and inclusive culture that respects diversity is at the heart of our ethos. We are dedicated to ensuring that we continue to evolve and challenge how we operate to ensure we always surpass the fundamental requirements of the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice.

Our priority is to engender genuine and meaningful transformation that is relevant to our employees, clients, and partners and to contribute in a positive way to the South African economy.

About B-BBEE

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is a government policy to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy.

The B-BBEE Codes of Good practice has five pillars. These are:  

• Ownership
• Management control
• Skills development
• Enterprise and supplier development
• Socio-economic development

Contact us to learn more about how MBE Consulting is connecting and contributing to the South African economy.

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Partnerships, like we have with MBE, ensure the sustainability of the school for many, many generations to come and we really value that.

MBE Consulting and the Jakes Gerwel Technical High School are delighted to announce their partnership. The single focus of the partnership is to enrich the students education and progress the career opportunities of the Bonnievale community.

The Jakes Gerwel Technical High School (JGT), a modern two-stream technical school with cutting edge e-learning facilities and MBE Consulting (MBE), a specialist actuarial consultancy operating in life insurance and financial services sectors, today announced their partnership to extend and enrich the educational opportunities for the children from Bonnievale, Western Cape.

Both JGT and MBE are aligned in their pursuit of building a high-quality secondary education and career pathway for students to pursue their ambitions. The goal is to provide a springboard for the students to succeed as professionals and in business, and to go on to help their community in the future.

The Jakes Gerwel Technical High School goes beyond proving an average education. At MBE we have long advocated the professional development of our staff by providing financial support, coaching, and mentoring. We are now delighted to extend this ethos beyond the business by partnering with this remarkable school.

Andries Beukes, Partner, MBE Consulting

The MBE team will work closely with the JGT staff to support the students by sharing their business experience and knowledge through coaching and mentoring.

The partnership with the Jakes Gerwel Technical High School is a unique opportunity for MBE to share our expertise and knowledge with the students to give them the confidence to pursue a diverse range of careers or to become entrepreneurs running their own businesses. We are looking forward to contributing to the JGT goal of empowering students and equipping them with the right skills and knowledge to enable them to succeed as individuals and contribute to the future prosperity of the community.

Vibeke Fennell, Partner, MBE Consulting

Get in touch to learn more about the JGT school.

The Jakes Gerwel Technical High School

The Jakes Gerwel Technical High School is the realisation of the vision of the Bonnievale community to provide a modern three-stream technical school with cutting edge e-learning facilities that currently gives 630 children from poor households in Bonnievale and the rural surrounding farm schools to have an opportunity to pursue secondary school education. JGT is a first for South Africa. Never has a community worked together on such a scale to collaborate with the government to create a school of such a standard and comprehensive offering of both technical vocational and technical occupational curricula.

MBE Consulting

Established in 2008 MBE Consulting is a specialist actuarial consultancy with a reputation for insight and innovation in the life insurance and financial services sectors. We provide long-lasting, individually tailored transformation programmes and actuarial technologies to improve risk management, remove waste and streamline processes for its clients. Our business has grown almost entirely through personal recommendations, reflecting the trust and loyalty our clients have in our services and people. 

For further information contact: 

Jakes Gerwel Technical: Wilhelm de Wet, Trustee: email | +27 82 823 9978

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The Wesolve4x team believe all children have a right to access education. To support this, they have set up a programme that combines free maths lessons with a grocery provision service. Not only do they teach children, but they also teach maths to the parents, empowering them to monitor and facilitate their children’s homework.

Wesolve4x have summarised their approach using this simple but highly effective model:

Wesolve4x = Maths + Parents – Hunger

In this recent SABC news interview (17 August 2021), Wesolve4x’s CEO Tsietsi Ngobese explains how the programme works and the difference it makes.

Making a difference to Mzinto Primary School

Mzinto Primary School located in Kwa Bhaca Mzinto village, Mount Frere, Eastern Cape is part of Wesolve4x’s Adopt a School programme. In August Wesolve4x adopted this school to teach free maths lessons to both children and parents and to provide groceries to their families.

‘Mrs Mafeke, grandmother of students Linamandla, Sinalo, Sinikeziswe called in tears to thank us for grocery hampers which will last her family a month and for the maths lessons giving hope to her grandchildren to escape poverty.’  

Whilst there, the Wesolve4x team found that the school hasn’t had proper toilet facilities for the past 38 years. This has led them to start raising funds to improve the sanitation of the school.

At MBE we were humbled by the work Wesolve4X do. What many of us take for granted is life-changing for these children and their families.

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MBE Consulting supports The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) programme, a legislative framework for the transformation of South Africa’s economy. The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act, [No. 53 of 2003], aims to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy.

Read about the other initiatives we support within South Africa:
Greenchild Foundation | Shadow Careers

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The Greenchild Foundation provides youth development, life skills, leadership and mentoring to both learners and educators. Their aim is to provide access to personal development opportunities to underprivileged and previously disadvantaged communities. MBE is delighted to be a sponsor for this exceptional charity.

MBE Consulting supports The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) programme, a legislative framework for the transformation of South Africa’s economy. The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act, [No. 53 of 2003], aims to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy.

To find out more about MBE Consulting South Africa and the actuarial consultancy services we provide to insurance companies, contact us.

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Their three-month development programme provides students with the individual competencies, behaviours and skills valued in a working environment alongside an understanding of areas such as diversity management and organisational culture.

We were delighted to be given the opportunity to sponsor Nolundi Ncinitwa through her learning journey. In her video, Nolundi explains how the programme has given her the skills she needs to build a career.

MBE Consulting supports The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) programme, a legislative framework for the transformation of South Africa’s economy. The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act, [No. 53 of 2003], aims to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy.

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