NEWS

Editor 22/11/2023 Editor 22/11/2023

Charity leader praises work of volunteers in South Africa

Following a break of three years due to Covid 19 restrictions, 2023 has proved to be a remarkable year of volunteering in South Africa for the Bambisanani Partnership.

41 students together with 11 members of staff from St. Mary’s School, Menston, University of Leeds, Leeds Trinity University and Newcastle College spent more than three months in South Africa delivering Bambisanani programmes using sport to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership in one the countries most deprived and challenging areas. In four separate coordinated visits the volunteers worked with 3,631 South African students from 33 different schools of which 17 were new partner institutions. 3,151 students from primary and secondary schools were involved in sports festivals and coaching activities and 1,135 children experienced Bambisanani Leadership through Sport programmes.

David Geldart, CEO and Founder of the partnership said, “I have nothing but praise for the remarkable students and staff from St. Mary’s, Menston, The University of Leeds, Leeds Trinity University and Newcastle College for their outstanding work in not only reintroducing volunteer student visits to South Africa after Covid but also for having such an enormous impact in doing so. Our work puts great store in creating learning opportunities for young people from both countries; Europeans and Africans ‘working together and learning together’ in a spirit of Ubuntu. All four institutions worked extremely hard with the local communities involved to establish what was needed on the ground then worked tirelessly in partnership to extend existing programmes and indeed to introduce new ones. These are four institutions that are prepared to ‘live their values’ in terms of Global Learning. They are helping to pioneer exceptionally powerful learning opportunities for young people in both countries. This work is far from easy. Despite the considerable challenges and hard work involved they are committed to ‘real education’ that is enabling young people to take a broader view of the world and their place in it. By any standard this is phenomenal educating that is helping to make the world a better place. Massive thanks to our wonderful team from South Africa and the UK for making all this happen and making a difference.”

The work of the partnership has been highlighted at conferences throughout the world, most recently at the Global Sport for All Summit held at the Vatican and at the International Olympic Academy in Ancient Olympia. The Bambisanani Partnership was named as International Sport and Physical Education Charity of the Year 2023.

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Editor 09/05/2023 Editor 09/05/2023

Bambisanani Partnership will deliver its most ambitious volunteer programme in South Africa

This summer will see the most ambitious Bambisanani Partnership volunteer programme in South Africa to date.

In June, July and August volunteer teams from St. Mary’s School, Menston, the University of Leeds, Leeds Trinity University and Newcastle College will work in partnership with schools and other organisations in the rural Nkandla region of KwaZulu-Natal to deliver a range of existing Bambisanani programmes as well as introducing new ones. In total, 58 students and members of staff have volunteered to work with local communities and schools in one of South Africa’s most challenging and deprived rural and remote areas.

Over the past 17 years, the Bambisanani Partnership has gained international acclaim for its work using sport as a catalyst to promote, education, health, global citizenship and leadership. Based on needs identified by local communities the partnership is committed to a range of collaborations that create learning opportunities for both students from South Africa and the UK under the banner of ‘Working together and learning together’.

The Bambisanani Partnership volunteer visits to South Africa were suspended during Covid and their reinstatement has been welcomed by all concerned: “It is wonderful that the visits will be starting again. Over the years they have made an incredible impact and changed the way that young people from both countries see the world and themselves. The visits enable special human connections to be made that change lives for the better and forever.” Mrs PK Zondi, Bambisanani Coordinator, Mnyakanya High School.

During the three years of Covid the charity demonstrated great resilience, determination and creativity in not only sustaining many of its ongoing activities but actually introducing some new projects with students in both countries. Much time was spent on maintaining the international relationships but also developing new ones. As a consequence, these visits will involve new schools, colleges and other organisations.

This year’s programme of varied activities will see Bambisanani volunteers work with over 1,000 Zulu students in primary, secondary schools and in the wider community. More than 200 students will participate in Bambisanani Sports Leadership programmes. Students from St. Mary’s and Newcastle College will collaborate with Zulu students to jointly deliver Sports and Reading Festivals for over 400 primary school learners. Students from the University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University will deliver a Sports Leadership Festival for primary school learners in the town of Eshowe. The university teams will also work on the Bambisanani and KZN Cycling initiative that will launch this summer and see the collaboration teach 5,000 young people a year how to ride and maintain bikes. Considerable sports coaching will also take place as well as the teaching of other subject areas in all schools. All four UK institutions will work in collaboration with the Norwegian charity, Zulufadder, at the Doremi Day Care Centre for orphans and vulnerable children.

Newcastle College is the latest UK institution to join the Bambisanani Partnership and are clearly delighted to be taking students to South Africa for the very first time. Brogan O’Connor from the college said. “Newcastle College is honoured and excited to be joining the Bambisanani Partnership and will commit to representing the partnership with positivity and pride to uphold the values and standards set by both organisations. We recognise the amazing work that has been done over the last 17 years and we commit fully to this, aiming to add further value to the partnership by the continued involvement of Newcastle College.”

St. Mary’s School will have two groups working in South Africa this summer involving 34 Sixth Form students and staff. Miss Charlotte Wood from St. Mary’s said: “It is just wonderful that we are very much ‘back to work’ with the volunteer visits. It will allow for students to work hand in hand with their South African counterparts and explore the programme which has brought so much success over the years. It will hopefully, make the St. Mary’s students more aware of how valuable the work of Bambisanani is, allowing them to pass on their experiences to younger members of the St. Mary’s community and in doing so inspire the next generation of volunteers.”

Suzzi Garnett from the University of Leeds added: “The joint University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University visit this summer represents a great chance to build on the projects of the past as well as look to a sustainable future for the Cycling to Success project. This group of students will deliver new things in new ways and help determine the next steps for the project'.

David Geldart, Founder and CEO of the Bambisanani Partnership was full of praise for all those involved in both countries for organising the volunteer programme: “The commitment and dedication of our team to create such amazing learning opportunities is simply remarkable. We created a fantastic platform during Covid to massively extend our work further and this is a great example of that. The encounters that will result have the potential to influence young people from South Africa and the UK that will be responsible for shaping society in the future. This is real education for a better world and we are indebted to the very special individuals and institutions that enable this to happen.”

Beyond the Bambisanani volunteer programme the charity also has an extensive range of initiatives that operate throughout the year including its Cycling programme in partnership with KZN Cycling, International Athletics Challenge that links primary schools in both countries, joint training of Physical Education and Sports Coaches linking universities in both countries, Bambisanani Awards that promote Global Citizenship, Leadership and Volunteering for secondary and primary school students in both countries and a Bursary scheme supporting South African students into university and college.

Editor 01/12/2022 Editor 01/12/2022

Universities push to restart International Volunteering Projects

The University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University are key members of the Bambisanani Partnership. Recently, staff from both universities have visited South Africa to establish links with a range of different partners, and to restart their successful international sports development programme.

The University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University are key members of the Bambisanani Partnership. Recently, staff from both universities have visited South Africa to establish links with a range of different partners, and to restart their successful international sports development programme.

The COVID period has meant that the two universities have been unable to conduct in-person development projects since 2019. However, during this time both universities have been working remotely with colleagues and organizations in South Africa to understand the landscape and form new exciting partnerships.

The team at Leeds Trinity University have been working with colleagues at the Imbali Education and Innovation Precinct and Durban University of Technology to explore potential areas for curriculum exchange and development in relation to their respective degree provision within sport and sports coaching. This includes a digital exchange project in 2021 where students from both the UK and South Africa collaborated to develop coaching resources and session plans to support delivery of multi-sports sessions across the KwaZulu-Natal region.

The University of Leeds has been looking to expand and develop its programme of cycling to more schools and young people across Kwazulu-Natal. To do this they have been working with a local NGO called KZN Cycling to look at the potential of developing a partnership to establish a cycling network that delivers programmes across the year, by local people, for local people.

Andy Lockwood (University of Leeds) and Chris Rowley (Leeds Trinity University) spent a week in South Africa to meet with various partners and stakeholders to formalise the progress that has been made and to explore emerging opportunities for the universities and the Bambisanani Partnership.

During the visit the team met with various government officials, Durban University of Technology (DUT) and KZN Cycling. The team also had the opportunity to visit our existing partners and friends to meet face to face for the first time in three years.

The team attended a specially arranged conference at DUT to focus on the development of sport across the region and role that the universities and the Bambisanani Partnership. This conference was attended by a range of government departments, National Governing Bodies and local coaches and players, with Andy and Chris also delivering a presentation around the Application of Sport Psychology within Training, Competition and Sports Coaching.

The visit to KZN Cycling saw the team meet with their staff teams, visit a local cycling hub and attend a community cycling clinic in a rural village. The Bambisanani Partnership is committed to developing our partnership to deliver a local hub to get cycling into communities that need it the most

The visit was an incredible success, with demand, need and impact at the heart of every discussion. The universities and the Bambisanani Partnership are now well set to develop their work and to restart their exciting visits in 2023.

David Geldart from the partnership said, “Massive thanks to Andy and Chris for this outstanding development work. We had worked hard during the COVID period to both maintain and develop new relationships virtually but there is nothing quite like being on the ground and meeting in person. We are now in a great position to expand the university strands of our work in South Africa in 2023.”

Universities push to restart international volunteering projects [WHARFEDALE OBSERVER]

Editor 17/08/2022 Editor 17/08/2022

Bambisanani Partnership inspires at International Conference

David Geldart, Chairman and Founder of the Bambisanani Partnership was recently a Keynote Speaker at the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) annual Summer School which this year took place at Leeds Trinity University in the UK.

David Geldart, Chairman and Founder of the Bambisanani Partnership was recently a Keynote Speaker at the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) annual Summer School which this year took place at Leeds Trinity University in the UK.

The focus of this year’s Summer School was Sport and Regeneration: Driving Sustainability, Community and Well-being. The international gathering attracted specially selected university student delegates from over 40 different Commonwealth countries. During the week stay in Leeds delegates engaged in a wide variety of lectures, workshops, collaborative projects, sports and cultural activities.

The organiser of the ACU Summer School was Sarah Todd from Leeds Trinity University. Sarah said: “This week has been a tremendous success and I would like to thank David for his outstanding contribution. The Bambisanani Partnership has gained richly deserved international acclaim for its pioneering work in South Africa using sport to change lives. David always speaks with such passion about this work and it certainly inspired our delegates, many of which are keen to stay in contact with him and the partnership.”

PhD student Poppy Bhengu from South Africa commented: “Coming from South Africa I could relate very much to the challenges faced by the Bambisanani Partnership in my country. The way that it works is so different to other organisations and the impact is amazing. It engages with the local communities in real partnership where everyone has responsibilities. It brings young people from both countries together in projects where both contribute and learn from each other. In the future I would love to become involved with this great organisation.”

David added: “It was an absolute pleasure to work with such an exceptional group of young people. They have enormous combined common wealth not least in their desire to work collaboratively and make a difference in the world. It was a very positive and empowering experience to be in their company. I would like to wish them all the very best in the future; they have incredible potential and fill me with hope. I would also like to add my congratulations to Sarah, who is a former student of mine, for organising this most prestigious international gathering. Good things will happen as a result of this week’s experiences and encounters.”

Editor 16/12/2021 Editor 16/12/2021

UK and South African students collaborate to become Physical Education teachers and Sports Coaches

Digital placement provided second-year Leeds Trinity University students, across a range of degree programmes, with the opportunity to use their theoretical knowledge of Sport and Physical Education to develop teaching and coaching resources for use in South Africa

Earlier this year The Bambisanani Partnership CEO, David Geldart, met with Dr Thobile Sifunda, Head of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation to discuss a range of potential collaborations. It was agreed that some joint training of Physical Education teachers and Sports Coaches in both the UK and South Africa could have enormous potential benefits for all concerned and should be explored. As a result, key Bambisanani partner, Leeds Trinity University was soon in contact with representatives from The Department for Education and The Department of Sport and Recreation in KwaZulu-Natal. What emerged, in a time of Covid restrictions and lockdowns, was the idea to link both lecturers and students within a ‘digital space’ in order to ‘work together and learn together’ in the true spirit of the Bambisanani Partnership. Students at Leeds Trinity University were unable to undertake professional work placements within their chosen occupational fields at the time, so the alternative possibility of ‘digital placements’ was discussed and developed.

More specifically, digital placement provided second-year Leeds Trinity University students, across a range of degree programmes, with the opportunity to use their theoretical knowledge of Sport and Physical Education to develop teaching and coaching resources for use in South Africa, under the supervision of Sheila King, Dr Chris Rowley and Dr Nicola Arjomandkhah. Leeds Trinity University students worked in collaboration with their South African peers who were also on placements themselves across a range of colleges within the KwaZulu-Natal region, to design and produce resources which aligned with the South African curriculum. In keeping with the collaborative nature of the Bambisanani Partnership, the placement officially launched with a virtual meeting between the five Leeds Trinity University students and their peers in South Africa, who were joined by the aforementioned staff from Leeds Trinity University, and Mr M Madlala as the project leader and key contact within South Africa. Following on from this initial exchange of ideas, questions and information, sub-groups were set up for the remainder of the project, led by at least one student from both countries. This enabled continued communication and collaboration for the duration of the project, as the students sought to establish specific project aims, and to monitor subsequent progress towards these objectives.

Students from both countries involved in this project have received a valuable opportunity to; apply their theoretical and practical knowledge within a real-world setting; develop their digital skills across a range of software and platforms; broaden their cultural awareness through active engagement and collaboration with peers in South Africa; develop their leadership and communication skills; and to work effectively as part of a wider project team, collaborating with a range of stakeholders both within the United Kingdom, and in South Africa.

Students from both counties were very positive and enthusiastic about the initiative:

“I loved meeting new people during this placement. One of the most challenging aspects was communicating with the South African students over WhatsApp and working on through despite the poor-quality reception via video connection. What I've learnt during this placement is to always be proactive and make things happen”.

Nathaniel Wilson-Fleming, 2nd year Sports Coaching student at Leeds Trinity University

Eilish McGovern, 2nd year Exercise, Health and Nutrition at Leeds Trinity University added:

“My experience for this South African placement was filled with many challenges and rewards. I started the process feeling quite unsure but excited about the work I would be involved in, working with new people as well as people abroad in a collaborative project was very appealing. A challenge throughout the experience was communication with our South African colleagues as both sides were working with different internet access. This made finding out exactly what was expected more difficult, however this was all solved in the end. One thing I really enjoyed was asking our colleagues about their experiences and getting to know them better. This allowed me to see the bigger picture and how the work that we would be doing would impact the community. This made the experience a lot more impactful and rewarding. Overall, I found the experience to be very fulfilling and worthwhile and I am very thankful for the experience.”

Mbongeni Masinyane, a qualified graduate in Coaching Science from Esayidi TVET College in KwaZulu- Natal commented:

“I have gained so much more knowledge and experience through this collaboration, particularly in the session planning for ‘soccer teamwork’. I would be very happy indeed to continue interacting with the students in the UK.”

Mr Mduduzi Madlala from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Higher Education said:

“The effective delivery of this project could hopefully lead to further exciting developments in the future for the universities and the Bambisanani Partnership. Further on, there is now a strategic opportunity with the involvement of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) which has been identified as the University in the KZN Province to collaborate with the UK Leeds Trinity University and TVET Colleges in the implementation of this programme. Meetings have already taken place between DUT staff from the Sport Science Department and staff from the UK Leeds Trinity University. Possible areas of collaboration have been identified and discussed as follows: Information Exchange, Skills Transfer for both Students and Lecturers. It is interesting that a direct university to university linkages has now been developed to initiate university-university international collaborations in order to take the programme to higher levels.”

Dr Chris Rowley, Senior Lecturer for Sports Psychology at Leeds Trinity University added,

‘’The Digital Placement ‘pilot’ programme was successful in providing an effective, and hopefully enjoyable, learning experience for all involved, including the staff who helped facilitate it. Through engaging in digital platforms, students have been able to learn a considerable amount from each other, during a time where physical travel and cultural exchange was seemingly not a readily apparent opportunity. This cultural exchange stands a key aim of this particular initiative, and a fundamental principle of our collective work as part of the Bambisanani Partnership. This project came at a really good time for our students in the absence of international volunteering trips being able to take place in person, and this digital platform will hopefully allow for further partnership developments in the areas of Knowledge Exchange, Workshops, Skills Transfer, Face to Face discussions as a means of further internationalising our curriculum in the area of Physical Education and Sports Coaching.’’

Michael Mbatha Sports Officer from Durban University of Technology-Sports Department commented,

‘’Despite some early technical difficulties this was a really positive experience for all concerned. We need to strengthen our relationship even further with Leeds Trinity University and are excited to work with their professors and students.’’

Mr M Shozi, Project Manager for Durban University of Technology, Imbali Education and Innovation Precinct. said,

‘’This programme has considerable potential for students in both countries. We need to work together in the area of exchange programmes, with the involvement of the local schools and TVET Colleges, sharing resources and developing joint modules of study.’’

David Geldart from the Bambisanani Partnership said, “Massive praise must go to all involved in what was effectively a Pilot project in a completely new area of collaboration for us all. New contacts have been made and new relationships developed. The UK students learned from the strengths of the South African students and the South African students learned from the strengths of UK students. This is precisely what we are about. There is clearly a desire to take this forward from both sides and I look forward to seeing this develop.”

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