07 June 2012

Supporting community empowerment

The Lafarge Community Trust promotes community empowerment by supporting upliftment initiatives in the communities in which it operates. As a way of acknowledging the achievements within the Bodibe community – which neighbours the Lafarge plant in Lichtenburg in North West Province – the trust has introduced an annual awards event. Through this awards programme, it aims to encourage the schools, the learners and educators, and all community members to rise above the norm and excel in what they do.

The first awards ceremony was held at the beginning of May at a school in Bodibe. This is just one of the schools in the community that, with the support of the Lafarge Education Trust, has excelled in various areas.

Awards were presented across three broad categories: Youth Development, Unsung Heroes and Enterprise Development.

The Youth Development category encompasses awards for:

-  An outstanding learner who has overcome life’s challenges and sets an inspirational example;

-  The most improved learners in mathematics, science and English;

-  The top achieving matriculant;

-  The best performing learner overall; and

-  The best performing bursary students (who have received bursaries from the Lafarge Education Trust) – who achieved distinctions in the preceding year.

The category for Unsung Heroes recognises people who have improved their own lives and the lives of others and/or made a significant contribution to their community. It includes awards for:

-   The school with the best kept environment;

-   The school principal or leader who has most improved school management and performance;

-    The best community mobiliser as a member of a school governing body

-    The educator most committed to sports and

-    The best performing sports teams in girls and boys soccer at primary, middle and high school levels. 

The Enterprise Development Award goes to an individual or organisation that has established a viable enterprise and has employed or has the potential to employ others. This category specifically targets the Team Leaders from the schools’ infrastructure development programmes.

Nominations for the awards were received from each of the 10 schools in the community that are supported by the Lafarge Education Trust and all the nominees were acknowledged alongside the award winners.

Mpogeng Nkgadima, programme manager for the Lafarge Education and Community Trusts, says, “We look forward to presenting these awards each year to the people of Bodibe who have achieved so much and have played an important part in helping to uplift their community. We hope to see these awards set the standard for excellence by which education and enterprise can measure further achievements. Well done to all of the nominees and especially to the award winners!”