Introducing our latest Bambisanani Partnership Volunteer: Poppy Bhengu
The UK based Bambisanani Partnership charity has gained international acclaim for its work using sport as a catalyst for promoting education, health, global citizenship and leadership in one of South Africa’s most challenging rural areas. What is lesser known is that the multi award-winning charity has no employees and is run entirely by volunteers in both countries.
The latest addition to the Bambisanani team is Poppy Bhengu, a young sports professional from the City of Ekurhuleni in South Africa.
Poppy Bhengu
Poppy said: “My love of sport started in school and I went on to gain my first degree in Sports Management and then a Master’s degree in Marketing specialising in Sport. Alongside my work I am currently pursuing my doctoral studies in Sport and Exercise Science. Having gained some experience as a university lecturer, I am now employed as Senior Sports Organiser for the City of Ekurhuleni. Beyond this I am a published author and committed to number of sports and community programmes as a volunteer. My first exposure to the Bambisanani Partnership was through the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Summer School held at Leeds Trinity University, where Mr. David Geldart, Founder of the partnership, was a guest speaker. During his presentation, Mr. Geldart spoke of issues that I passionately believe in and that caught my attention. Among the many things that impressed me was the excellent work that Bambisanani is doing with communities in the Nkandla region of KwaZulu-Natal. Organizations come and go from this remote rural area and most make promises they fail to keep; few are sustained. The Bambisanani Partnership is so different; it works in genuine partnership with the local community and has made a remarkable impact over the past 16 years. It brings young people together from both countries and creates opportunities for them to work together and learn together. It is an honour for me to be joining the Bambisanani Partnership as a volunteer. Sport provides us with a platform to address a wide societal challenge; it can be a powerful force for good in the world, changing lives in the process. I believe strongly in the principle of ‘paying it forward’ – being helpful and kind to others because someone has been helpful and kind to you. Professionally, I owe a great deal to someone who didn't have any relation to me and who put their faith in me. I wish to plant that same seed in our communities. As I embark on my journey with Bambisanani Partnership, I am looking forward to becoming part of the success and change that Bambisanani Partnership represents. I am looking forward to 'paying it forward' through my experience in sports and leadership.”
David Geldart from the partnership said: “Poppy impressed me very much at The ACU Summer School and showed great interest in our philosophy, principles and practical work programmes. Poppy has been instrumental in organising and delivering a wide range of highly successful sports and community projects in South Africa. She is positive, proactive and is clearly driven to make a difference in the world. Poppy has a proven track record, both as a leader and as a team player; we are absolutely delighted to welcome her to the team. She will be a tremendous asset and has already started to work with members of the team. Every volunteer that commits to the partnership brings something new and takes us further.”
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