News 2009
Women leaders unite for change
40 upcoming women leaders met in Johannesburg last month to formulate their vision of a prosperous and peaceful southern Africa. The women were all Graça Machel scholars, selected by Mrs Machel for their talent, enthusiasm and commitment to creating positive developmental change in fields such as medicine, education, conservation, human rights and food security. Each has already had a profound impact in her rural community and will be even more influential with the professional and educational opportunities offered by the Graça Machel programme.
They are pictured above on the last day of the event, when each was reflecting on experiences which will help them shape their future careers. During the event Mrs Machel assigned each scholar a mentor from among her own personal contacts, to offer inspiration and advice over the coming years. Scholars worked with their mentors to set personal career goals against which they will measure their progress in future. Training in public speaking, negotiation and workplace ethics enabled the scholars to gain skills which will be vital for them to have social impact at the highest levels of governments, universities and NGOs.
Grace Ntaote and Nellie Chiphwanya are lucky enough to be mentored by Mamphele Ramphela, a female leader who has inspired generations of Africans through her work as a medic, anti-apartheid campaigner and the first South African Managing Director of the World Bank.
Mamphela Ramphele (pictured dancing with Graça at the evening event below) will guide and advise Nellie and Grace, who are specialising in environmental awareness and education respectively, to enable them to provide developmental leadership and act as role models for future generations of women.
Books for Fort Hare
Due to the generosity of one of our donors, the Trust has been able to resume its annual support to the University of Fort Hare and replenish the library’s short loan collection. As the location where inspirational leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo formulated their anti-apartheid ideals, Fort Hare is a South African national treasure and still offers education to some of the country’s most disadvantaged students, many of whom cannot afford expensive resources such as textbooks. The short loan collection allows students to read key course texts on the library premises, so that books can be used by as many students as possible. Re-stocking it will benefit Fort Hare students for years to come.
Hope for orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe
Another generous donation has enabled us to offer further support to the Farm Orphan Support Trust (FOST) in Zimbabwe, which ensures that HIV/AIDS orphans are able to access school. FOST pays block grants to schools so that they waive fees for orphans, and provides children with essential items such as uniforms and stationery. For many children, school staff are their only carers, so FOST also trains teachers to provide emotional and pastoral support and raises awareness of the needs and rights of orphans among local communities.
FOST Director Moira Ngaru recently sent this update from Zimbabwe, which included a tentative message of hope for the future:
“The impact of all that has been happening here is that more and more children have been plunged into vulnerability. Things are improving slowly and we are hopeful that the economy will stabilise soon. Thank you for having us in your thoughts in terms of supporting our children”.
SJ Berwin supports southern Africa’s women leaders
Law firm SJ Berwin is lending its support to the Trust’s Graça Machel Scholarships Scheme, which provides educational opportunities to inspirational female leaders in southern Africa to help them initiate positive change. The scheme, led by Graça Machel, international stateswoman and wife of Nelson Mandela, enables women from disadvantaged backgrounds who have had a strong positive impact in their communities, to improve their knowledge and skills and become leaders in their fields. Women supported work in a variety of fields including education, science, finance, development and health.
We are delighted that SJ Berwin staff have decided to support an inspirational female leader over the coming year, in memory of their colleague Catherine Bailey. Catherine was a South African lawyer, and would be proud to know that the scholarship given in her name will help a young southern African woman to realise her dreams.
As I write this, all the women supported through the Graça Machel Scholarships are coming together in Johannesburg, where they are meeting influential women from across the region whom Graça has personally selected to provide mentoring and guidance to them throughout their careers. We are extremely excited about the formation of this regional network of women leaders, and look forward to bringing you the full report next month.
Computers for the community!
Canon Collins Trust is expanding its computer project in partnership with Giyani Science Centre in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The project has provided computer labs to 29 remote rural schools, enabling children from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain skills vital for the modern workplace, and access information which their under-stocked or non-existent school libraries cannot offer.
Now the Science Centre is increasing its support to these rural locations by opening the computer labs to the community! With one of the highest unemployment rates in South Africa, Limpopo is desperately in need of projects which enable adults, who missed out on a quality education due to apartheid, to gain the skills they need to support themselves. Over the next year, 400 community members will be trained in the use of the computers, with particular emphasis on gaining basic workplace skills and on compiling CVs and job applications. The course will dramatically increase participants’ quality of life by enabling them to gain the skills and self confidence they need to generate income and take control of their own lives.
Supporting educational experts in Malawi
Canon Collins Trust has an exciting new partnership with Chancellor College, Malawi’s leading university, to enable six upcoming educational experts to study Education Policy, Planning and Leadership at postgraduate level. For the very first time, the Trust is supporting Malawians to study in their home country, made possible by the James Learmonth and Graça Machel Scholarships. Without this support the course would not be able to run, as the vast majority of educational practitioners in the country cannot afford tuition fees.
Malawi is in urgent need of professionals who are able to understand, engage with and implement its educational strategies. The introduction of free primary schooling in 1994 was extremely positive but led to some of the major challenges facing the Department of Education today – overcrowded classrooms, shortages of resources, and a lack of qualified teachers.
Each of our six scholars is determined to bring vision and innovation to education in Malawi, taking on the challenges of curriculum development, teacher training and child protection to ensure that every pupil gains maximum benefit from their schooling. Malawi has benefited from the input of large numbers of foreign experts to formulate its education policy, but through this initiative we are supporting local leaders to develop home-grown strategies which truly respond to the country’s social and cultural needs.
Philemon Ndolo is one of our six scholars, and has ambitious plans for how he will use his knowledge when he finishes his course. “The experiences we are getting from the programme so far have inspired us so much that we want to immediately begin to do something about it. In this vein we are now in the process of establishing an organisation whose mission is the enhancement of knowledge of education policies among teachers. The lecturers have pledged us their support and we are excited.”
We are extremely proud to be associated with this initiative which is helping Malawian experts work together to achieve lasting improvements to the education system.
Special congratulations to Atupele!
The Trust would like to extend its heartfelt congratulations to Atupele Chilalire, one of our new scholars who will be studying for an MSc in Social Development and Health at Queen Margaret University this year. Atupele has to be particularly congratulated for her achievement, having applied for a scholarship not once but four times! While all her applications were extremely impressive, this year her extra experience and passion for her subject really shone through and we are so pleased to have her on the programme.
As an expert in rural development, Atupele has made her mark in her home country of Malawi by managing a wide variety of community projects, helping local people to set up agricultural enterprises, campaigning for girls’ education, and raising awareness of sustainable farming practices and nutrition. She is full of ideas for how the lives of rural people can be improved, and hopes that her course will enable her to share these with development practitioners from all over the world. As an avid women’s rights campaigner, Atupele plans to focus on increasing rural women’s understanding of the law when she returns home.
We would like to welcome Atupele to the UK and thank our supporters for making it possible for her to study.
Sing a song for southern Africa!
Thanks go to Ruth Sharville and friends, who found a new and innovative way to raise funds for southern African education. On 12th August their singing group, TRI-O, put on a benefit concert with all proceeds to Canon Collins Trust. As suggested by the name, TRI-O comprises just three singers, who managed to raise over £100 towards our work during just one lunchtime! The event took place at St Mary’s Church in Chepstow, with an audience of around 50 people.
Welcome to our new Canon Collins Trust scholars!
Our new cohort of scholars are now arriving in the UK, ready to begin a wide range of study courses which will enable them to contribute to southern Africa’s development and growth in fields as diverse as health, education, governance and the environment. We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new scholars and wish them every success for the coming year.
First to arrive in the UK was Moonga Mumba, a Zambian IT professional whose studies at Greenwich University will enable him to gain a skill set which is extremely rare in his home country. His course will qualify him to work at the highest levels in his field, increasing the security and efficiency of Ministry of Finance and Zambian Revenue Authority systems. These systems are absolutely vital to underpin development and growth in southern Africa, as by formalising processes of financial management, governments are able to tackle corruption and promote transparency in the use of public funds.
Breaking the cycle of poverty in rural Northern Cape, South Africa
Canon Collins Trust intern John McGeachy spent two weeks in the remote rural areas of South Africa’s Northern Cape, visiting a project which will increase the lifetime chances of children in the region by helping them to achieve more at school.
The project is addressing two major educational barriers faced by children in this isolated and impoverished area – language and health. Children struggle at school due to parental illiteracy and the difficulty of learning in a second language, while their poor state of health affects concentration and attendance. However, this project is breaking the cycle of low educational achievement and poverty, by providing teachers with specialist training to deal with linguistic barriers, employing a school nurse and paying regular health support visits to children’s homes.
During his visit, John interviewed Thembakazi Matyeke, a member of the community whose contribution to the programme has been inspirational, as a Grade R teacher and as a health worker who visits families to discuss issues ranging from HIV/AIDS to effective parenting. Here she talks about the difference the project has made to her life and her community:
“I’m a shy person, but since I have started to work here, I have the skills and knowledge, I was getting confidence. Now I’m working and earning, so things have changed. I really feel appreciated and the community is supportive, and the children are attending [school]. Now we don’t see children at home doing nothing. Their parents encourage them and see a future for them.”
John’s visit was part of an evaluation of the project’s achievements to date. We are working closely with the Department of Education in the Northern Cape to ensure that successes are replicated as widely as possible, to benefit more children across more schools.
Thank you for helping meet the Global Giving challenge!
With your support the Trust has achieved its challenge, mobilising over 50 donors to donate over £1,000 on the Global Giving site! By reaching our target before 31st July, we have earned a permanent place on the website. Thanks to everyone who supported the campaign – the value of your gift will be multiplied as many more potential supporters will be able to learn about the Trust through Global Giving.
Promoting Education for All in Zambia
Former Canon Collins Trust scholar Francis Simui has launched Zambia’s first ever Inclusive Education network, raising awareness of the importance of making education accessible to all children, including those with special needs. Although Zambia is progressing rapidly towards achieving universal primary enrolment, there is still an urgent need to ensure that the system does not exclude children with disabilities and special learning requirements. The Inclusive Education network will enable schools to access training and support to help them offer equal educational opportunities for all.
The launch of the network attracted a huge amount of interest and was attended by pupils, teachers, parents, school managers, Ministry of Education representatives and health and social workers. Many teachers present at the launch described how they had previously excluded disabled children from their lessons, but said the event had provided them with the knowledge and confidence to support all children's needs.
Francis’ inspiration in setting up the network stems directly from the time he spent in the UK as a Canon Collins Trust scholar. During his study for a Masters in Inclusive Education in 2006, Francis volunteered for the Enabling Education Network (EENET), and the insights he gained from the experience inspired him to set up a Zambian branch. With resources supplied by EENET and funding from Canon Collins Trust, Francis has been able to realise his dream, and is working to make education for all a reality in Zambia.
“Using my Masters in Inclusive Education I will be able to contribute to the reformation of the education system in Zambia to a level where ALL children will have access, meaningful participation and be able to realise their potential. The aims of my project are two-fold – firstly to build the internal capacity of EENET Zambia, and secondly to help Zambian schools analyse, reflect, document and share their experiences on how to include all children in education.”
New cohort of scholars selected for UK study
The next cohort of Canon Collins Trust scholars has now been selected for study in the UK! Among the group are students with plans to become southern Africa’s future leaders in fields as diverse as economics, community eye health, international education, poverty reduction, development, and risk analysis. Each of our new scholars has a strong vision of the future of southern Africa and a clear concept of how they will be able to contribute to development through their particular field of expertise. We look forward to welcoming them to the UK in September and wish them the best of luck with their studies!
But how can studying fashion make a developmental difference?
This year we have added one particularly unusual subject to the expanding list of fields studied by our scholars – Fashion Business Management. Busisiwe Klaas will be studying the subject to Masters level at Westminster University, and despite the fact that fashion is rarely perceived as vital to southern Africa’s development, she plans to show that our preconceptions about the industry may not always be justified.
Busisiwe has developed a project which will empower some of South Africa’s most vulnerable people to support themselves financially, by teaching them to design, produce and market footwear. Her project will offer training and mentoring to young women affected by HIV, enabling them to develop the skill of producing hand-stitched shoes.
“My driving motivation is to come up with an organisation that educates young women affected by HIV, enabling them to gain a marketable skill and helping them to become independent.”
Busisiwe Klaas
Busisiwe already has significant experience in the footwear industry, which will be consolidated through her programme of study, and which she intends to pass on through a personalised programme of seed funding, training and advice for disadvantaged but enthusiastic young entrepreneurs. Through her project they will learn to assess local marketing opportunities and establish and grow their businesses, gaining self-sufficiency, self-confidence and improved quality of life.
Lawyers support legal education for southern Africans
Lawyers attended a prestigious event hosted by Lord Joel Joffe at the House of Lords, celebrating Leigh Day & Co’s long-standing support for the Trust’s legal scholarships. The event was an opportunity to hear from scholars Helen Lungu, Dewa Mavhinga and Levi Mvula, whose studies are enabling them to shape justice in their countries. While Helen is studying to become one of Zambia’s few experts in corporate law, Dewa is working to tackle human rights abuses in his home country of Zimbabwe, through his role as a Human Rights Watch researcher.
The event’s highlight was a moving speech by Levi Mvula, who is studying Theory and Practice of Human Rights at the University of Essex. He described his journey from rural poverty in Malawi and his campaign to promote the human right of women to healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth. The focus of Levi’s work could not be more relevant in Malawi, where according to UNICEF a woman’s lifetime risk of dying in childbirth is one in eighteen.
The event at the House of Lords provided the opportunity to celebrate our scholars’ achievements as well as the news that the British South African Lawyers Association have generously committed to fund a new legal scholarship.
Graça Machel Scholars gain access to UK government departments
Four Graça Machel Scholars gained access to the UK’s corridors of power for a week courtesy of Sarah Brown, who was inspired by the young women leaders when she met them at a reception last year. Their packed itinerary included a visit to the Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, where they were present not merely as observers but as active participants in debates on issues ranging from global food security to progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
Lucy Mwase, studying Public Health at Leeds, was one of the four Graça Machel scholars who gained access to the UK’s top decision-making bodies:
“I am writing to extend my sincere gratitude for the wonderful occasion you organised for us. The visit was a rare opportunity to meet some of the government’s top officials and to gain an understanding of the British political system. It gave us a chance to develop a rapport with people who we may need to contact when we are back in our respective countries.”
Canon Collins Trust featured on the BBC!
Our former Chief Executive Ethel de Keyser was featured on the BBC’s Heir Hunters on 1st July. The feature includes the compelling story of Ethel’s role in the anti-apartheid campaign, as well as interviews with two of the Trust’s current scholars.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lkgvn/Heir_Hunters_Series_3_Gibbs_DeKeyser/
‘Only Zambians can change Zambia’
...and Canon Collins Trust is helping them to do just that. This is the message Jean Tullett our Scholarships Managers brought back with her from her recent expedition to launch our alumni group, and visit people and institutions around the country. She is pictured below at La Farge cement visiting Oris, an alumnus who is quoted above.
Jean has written to many of our supporters about her amazing experiences, with the stories of our exceptional alumni there, and most of all their overwhelming gratitude. Zambians are a very peaceful people, but as poverty encroaches, and more children die, you can sense disquiet. Good governance is vital, as are economic and political mechanisms for mitigating the global crisis, and Zambia’s dependence on mining. As one person said to Jean ‘a grade 12 student cannot run a country’, and more qualified people such as Canon Collins Trust alumni are desperately needed. You can read her full letter here.
Another award for Faiza!
Faiza embodies the community minded spirit of our students, not just taking the support she so rightly needs, but giving back to her UK community whilst here. Here in the UK she has been doing just that by working with the Red Cross and other community groups. She has been recognised for her community work and presented with the Community University Engagement (CUE) Award. The CUE East project aims to start to change the culture within the University with regards to public engagement being truly embedded as a worthwhile activity in itself rather than just as an offshoot of teaching and research. The University of East Anglia is leading a number of institutions in encouraging the engagement of its students and staff with their local communities. We would like to congratulate Faiza at once again winning recognition of her excellent qualities.
Western Cape students gather in South Africa
Linda Budaza, above front row second from left, our Regional Manager in our Cape Town office invited our students based in Western Cape to the office, in order to touch base, and meet our South African trustees and supporters. Scholars from all the 4 Universities in the Western Cape (University of Cape Town, University of Western Ca[e, Stellenbosch and Cape Peninsula University of Technology) beat the cold winter evening and attended this fun event. These students included, the Leigh Day scholars (law students at UWC), Graça Machel 2009 scholar Khaya , Ros Moger scholar Isaac Ndlovu , and a group of continuing and new Canon Collins Trust scholars.
Diane (sitting far left front row), a South African student who is completing her Masters in Social Work, spoke on behalf of the students. She is currently working at the University of the Western Cape in the disabled students department. She assists with Braille, and also volunteers at the Athlone school for the blind. She has also undergone her practicals there and has a job offer for when she completes her studies. She is grateful for the scholarship and believes her study will enable her to make a difference in the lives of the blind students. She is passionate about her workand looks forward to take up the job at the school for the blind.
Canon Collins Trust in partnership with one of the world’s largest MBA programmes
Canon Collins Trust is using its competencies in sourcing and selecting scholars to support the awarding of up to 50 MBAs a year via Edinburgh Business School’s distance learning programme. It’s an excellent use of our infrastructure and expertise to help hundreds of Africans to benefit from top class skills development. This is one of the largest and most innovative programmes of its kind, and we are pleased that Edinburgh Business School have recognised us as the best partner for rolling it out to aid the development of southern Africans.
Canon Collins Scholarship Manager launches alumni programme in Zambia
Jean Tullett, Canon Collins Trust Scholarships Manager, is visiting Zambia in order to participate in our alumni programme launch, as well as meet with representatives of higher education institutions to make links for both prospective and previous scholars. A fundamental part of our endeavours now involves the continuation of work with our scholars beyond their course to best support their ongoing development and impact. The alumni have also shared with us their inspirational stories of how much their studies have meant in practical life. Francis Simui is just one scholar who has been helped to realize his dream :
‘After working for the Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) for the past one year so far, I will be joining the University of Zambia next week. I will be in charge of Research and Evaluation in the directorate of distance education as well as lecturing in the department of education psychology, sociology and special education.
This has been my dream, to work in a University as i had indicated to you at the time when applying. It’s also a great opportunity for EENET Zambia (an education network I am pioneering) to further its agenda in Zambia seeing that University provides an enabling environment for what we stand for.’
Ground-breaking Antarctic Adventure for Nellie
Nellie Chiphwanya, from Malawi, is one of the Canon Collins Graca Machel Scholarship student. She is one of the few Africans ever to get to the Antarctic, thanks to her selection on an exciting expedition. Nellie's environmental studies at Rhodes University and her subsequent professional profile will be immeasurably enhanced. You can track her adventure and find out more at the Expedition website:
http://www.expedition-antarctic-2009.com
Canon Collins Scholar Shines in 2009
Faiza from Malawi, a Canon Collins Trust student at the University of East Anglia, has been selected for a special prize by the British Council. The International Student Awards celebrate the international student experience, and we're very proud that Faiza has excelled herself by winning an award. Faiza entered by writing a piece about the impact that her scholarship has, and so impressed the judges that they gave her the regional award. Find out more here.
