| This is because the student undertakes to contribute to the next child’s education once they have graduated. "It’s their way of saying to the community, ‘I’ve had an opportunity, now it’s time to create an opportunity for another’. And so education continues," explains Estelle Jacobs, who runs the bursary programme.
It’s a system that works: almost every successful graduate so far has found full-time employment and there have only been a few dropouts. Financially, this means young adults are finding places for themselves in the economy. And it means that the local community, disadvantaged by both history and geography, is starting to benefit from its own investment in its daughters and sons.
Parents often ask how to thank the project’s founders, Lesley Osler, Clare Barnes-Webb and Anja Pienaar. Says Lesley: "We say, ‘Our thanks will come from seeing your child take responsiblity for his or her life and using the opportunities offered by the Trust."
That’s the other benefit, one that won’t slot into an auditor’s columns. It’s the way a person feels when they know they can be something.
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