SpaceToSay Foundation (STSF), a non-profit organisation, has launched an initiative that identifies and gives recognition to learners from poor backgrounds who have the potential to become good leaders when they reach adulthood.
According to the founder of the initiative, Johan Bester, STSF operates on five key values: honesty, self-belief, others first, integrity and fairness, and aims to promote them among learners from grade five and upwards.
Asked why he launched the initiative, Bester said: “I am concerned with what is happening in society like the [current] high levels of corruption, poverty and crime and yet I see a lot of indifference in dealing with these problems. I believe teaching young school children, particularly in disadvantaged communities, values such as honesty, fairness and self-belief will help develop them into leaders who will stand out as good role models.”
He works closely with employee volunteers and the business community “whom I see as important partners in promoting this initiative. For me, 2010 was a milestone because I managed to get the project off the ground by setting up a website and got positive feedback from the participating schools.”
Schools take part in the initiative by following three steps: writing essays, electing young leaders and awarding the winners. Learners from grade five onwards write an essay to explain the meaning of the five values and how important they are in their lives. The best are posted on STSF’s website. The next phase is when the learners vote for the three who best embody STSF’s values. The voting process is done in two phases: nomination and election.
At nomination phase, learners write the name of the candidate believed to demonstrate the five values. External or independent observers are invited to supervise the process.
During the election phase, 10 candidates who garnered the most nominations get a chance to canvas support for more votes from fellow learners. On voting day fellow learners receive ballot papers and cast their votes. Independent observers are enlisted to verify that the elections are free and fair.
In December last year STSF held its maiden Young Client Guardians Award ceremony at Reagile Primary School in Tembisa to acknowledge three outstanding learners. The glittering event was attended by school principals and senior school managers from seven schools, as well as officials from STSF.
In his address at the ceremony Bester thanked the principals, teachers and learners for making the event a success despite disturbances in the form of the Fifa World Cup and teachers’ strike in the last quarter of the academic year.
He said the initiative is STSF’s contribution towards identifying and rewarding learners who display leadership potential at a young age. Bester said the organisation would continue to interact with and monitor the progress of the winning learners to ensure they develop their leadership capacity.
Esther Mangaba, a grade seven maths and technology teacher at Reagile Primary School, who co-ordinated the project, said the organisers identified learners with leadership qualities through reading sessions. “We picked those who had confidence and showed excellent reading skills. We also ensured that the right procedures were followed in electing the winners,” she said.
Three girl learners were announced as this year’s Young Client Guardians. They are Thuso Mothoa from Khensani Primary in Soshanguve, Tshwane (the only participating school outside Tembisa), Boitumelo Moloi from Moriting Primary School and Blessing Majoko from Seotloana Primary School.
They said they had gained a lot from taking part in the competition. Mothoa emphasised the importance of honesty in her address, Moloi spoke on the value of “others first” and Majoko highlighted the value of self-belief. All 21 learners who took part in the initiative, including the winners, received certificates from STSF.
For more information, interested schools can e-mail [email protected] or visit the website.