Studietrust – A New Milestone
A few years ago, at our 30th birthday celebrations, we took stock of the road we have travelled since Studietrust was started in 1973 through the initiative of Andries Kruger and Jan Hofmeyr, with co-workers from
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Of the total number of South African black learners in 1974 only 6% were in high schools and a mere 0.19% in matric. That was the motivating factor. Following the 16 June 1976 youth uprisings there was a sudden increase in applications for bursaries. Studietrust had become a source of hope.
In the first year of its existence Studietrust gave bursaries to 75 applicants. In 2007 the figure was close to 350. Another milestone was when we became a partner of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. This enabled us to administer loans to needy students to supplement our partial bursaries.
The success rate of our students is still 90%+ in an environment where throughput rate is a real problem. We ascribe our success to two factors.
- Selection. Over the years a selection system has been developed that allows us to select not only the straight A students (that’s easy), but also those with potential who have not had the opportunity to shine due to any number of mostly poverty-related reasons.
- Mentoring. A Studietrust bursary holder becomes a member of a fellowship of donors, administrators and students. We write them letters – stern but encouraging ones when they do badly, celebratory ones when they do well. We visit them on their campuses. We support them as total persons. And they respond. At a very vulnerable time in their life’s journey, with the chaos of poverty threatening their identity, we try to be solidly there for them. They come to know that they belong to something, a fellowship that puts the well-being of the other above all else.
During our 30th birthday celebrations in 2004 it became clear that the period of the founders was drawing to a close. The foundations were well laid. They were solid enough to allow for several floors to be added. This is a crisis time for most organisations. The founders are usually inspired by a single vision that allows them to overcome all obstacles. They have built something extra-ordinary. The challenge to the second generation is to remain extra-ordinary, and yet introduce very ordinary measures to allow the organisation to make use of the many opportunities that are now beckoning as a result of the reputation built by the founders.
The first step in this process was to find a suitable successor for Jan Hofmeyr. It was a long and arduous process. We eventually interviewed four excellent candidates from a total number of 34 applicants. We are confident that the person we present to you today is the one who will “take Studietrust to the next level”. His appointment is a new milestone. He has clear targets, set by the Board of Trustees. As is to be expected, top of the agenda is to substantially increase the resources available so that we can support more students. He must grow the organisation without transforming it into something that is not Studietrust. In his application letter he wrote:
"If I join Studietrust, it will be on the basis of the conviction that I will be able to invest my strengths … and my particular experience … in a project that is in line with my deepest convictions."
We present to you this morning our new National Director Dr Murray Hofmeyr, and with him the organisation you have come to know and trust at a new milestone in its quest to fight poverty through education.
Mike Morapeli (National Chairperson) at welcoming breakfast for the new National Director on 12.3.2008
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Last Updated on Monday, 30 August 2010 12:23
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