NEWS
Bambisanani leader attends South African National Day 2023 celebrations
David Geldart, CEO of the Bambisanani Partnership was honoured this week with an invitation to visit the South African High Commission in London to celebrate South Africa’s National Day.
David Geldart, CEO of the Bambisanani Partnership was honoured this week with an invitation to visit the South African High Commission in London to celebrate South Africa’s National Day.
His Excellency Kingsley Mamabolo, the South African High Commissioner with David Geldart, CEO of the Bambisanani Partnership
The event, also known as Freedom Day, commemorated the 29th year since the first post-apartheid elections were held and the day that the new constitution was introduced. The elections were the first national elections where everyone in the country over the age of 18 from any race was allowed to vote. National Day is held on 27th April but had been delayed in the UK because of the coronation. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Consolidating and safeguarding our Democratic gains’.
David Geldart met His Excellency Kingsley Mamabolo, the South African High Commissioner, who praised the work of the Bambisanani Partnership as an outstanding example of the collaboration between the UK and South Africa. In his speech, the High Commissioner highlighted the special relationship between the two countries. He also outlined the progress that had been made in the last 29 years of democracy but also the challenges that still need to be addressed.
David Geldart said “It is a tremendous honour for the partnership to be represented at this most significant commemorative celebration. For many of us involved in the anti-apartheid movement that day in April 1994 is impossible to forget. I remember watching TV and seeing snaking queues that stretched for miles and miles of people that had never been allowed to vote before. Some years later I remember, with equal clarity, meeting people that had stood in those queues and hearing their stories. The Bambisanani Partnership is very proud to play a small part in this democratic journey.”
Newcastle College raises funds for the Bambisanani Partnership
Students and staff at Newcastle College recently took part in the Goggins Challenge, in an effort to raise funds for their visit to South Africa later this year, where they will spend three weeks working with children in schools and orphanages.
Students and staff at Newcastle College recently took part in the Goggins Challenge, in an effort to raise funds for their visit to South Africa later this year, where they will spend three weeks working with children in schools and orphanages.
The Goggins Challenge involves running four miles, every four hours, for 48 hours. In total the team ran 48 miles over the course of the challenge. Brogan O'Conner, Sports Development Manager explained how it went: "It was an honour to host and take part in the Goggins Challenge. In the end, five people (two students and three staff, pictured above) managed to complete all 12 runs, and a further 12 people (four students and eight staff) ran one or more of the legs in support.
"Although it was a tough mental and physical challenge, it was a great opportunity to give students and staff different memories and experiences outside of their regular college days and one which I will personally remember for a long time.
"I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the challenge possible: the Hospitality team for providing food throughout the challenge, the HE sport rehab team for providing massage treatments, all the staff and students who popped in to wish us good luck or joined us on a run, Hollinside Homes for sponsoring the event and finally Barry Rizza, Tuition Fund Coach, for coming up with, and organising the event."
David Geldart, Founder and CEO of the Bambisanani Partnership said: "Massive thanks to the team at Newcastle College for participating in the gruelling Goggins Challenge for the Bambisanani Partnership charity. Brogan, Barry and the students deserve tremendous praise for their efforts and commitment to the partnership. We are rather unusual as a charity in that we have no paid staff or premises - we are all volunteers which means that any money raised goes directly to support our sports projects programmes in one of South Africa’s most deprived rural areas.
"The team of volunteers from Newcastle College will see for themselves just what impact this has when they visit South Africa this summer to work on these programmes."
The team raised a staggering £1,534, but they'd like to reach £5,000 to purchase essential supplies and sporting equipment for the children they'll be supporting in South Africa.
You can help them to reach their target by donating to their JustGiving page.
Newcastle College Students Take Part in Goggins Challenge [NEWCASTLE COLLEGE]
St. Mary's Menston Year 12 South Africa Visit 2023 Blog
St. Mary’s Menston Year 12 South Africa Visit 2023 Team
Read the blog here:
Bambisanani Leader to speak at Global School Alliance virtual conference
For further details and to register please see link below.
For further details and to register please see link below.
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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.
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.
Ground-breaking International partnership will bring cycling to thousands of children in rural South Africa
An innovative partnership has been developed between organisations from the UK and South Africa to establish a specialist cycle hub to enable thousands of children in rural South Africa to learn how to ride and maintain bicycles.
An innovative partnership has been developed between organisations from the UK and South Africa to establish a specialist cycle hub to enable thousands of children in rural South Africa to learn how to ride and maintain bicycles.
Lizzie Deignan MBE. Photo courtesy of JoJo Harper. All Rights reserved.
Since 2016, the University of Leeds and the Bambisanani Partnership have devised and delivered a Cycling to Success programme based at Mnyakanya High School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This programme has led to almost 200 young people learning how to ride bikes safely and to also maintain and fix bikes out in the community. This programme has also operated a bike rental scheme to allow leaners who live great distances from school to ride to and from school. The project has gained widespread acclaim, including praise from World Champion professional cyclist, Lizzie Deignan MBE who has given her own kit to support it.
The ambition has always been to expand and grow the programme to further schools in the area to broaden the reach and numbers of children gaining these valuable life skills. Over the last two years, the University of Leeds and the Bambisanani Partnership have been working with the highly respected cycling NGO, KZN Cycling, to identify opportunities for collaboration and to expand the project across a great number of schools and across the calendar year.
The Bambisanani Cycling to Success programme introduced in the remote Nkandla region has had an enormous impact. This is an area where children can routinely walk two hours to and from school each day. The bikes have been subsequently been used for transportation, recreation, informal sport and even by the local football team for fitness training. Other remote rural communities also approached the Partnership to see if they could be involved but until now this has not been possible. The collaboration with KZN Cycling dramatically increases capacity to bring cycling, with all its transformative benefits, to other communities.
In this last week, the Bambisanani Partnership and KZN Cycling have signed a three-year agreement worth over £50,000 to establish a cycling hub in the Nkandla region of South Africa. This new hub will have a local community member as a member of staff to deliver schools cycling programmes, as well as community clinics and organise races and events across the area. The new hub will enable 5,000 young people per year to become cyclists and mechanics, as well as acting as a talent identification programme for KZN-Cycling performance pathway. This new partnership provides an exciting opportunity to empower the young people of Nkandla, as well as providing a blueprint for future programmes and projects.
The commitment and enthusiasm for this project is clearly evident from those involved
““We are all excited to develop this new partnership. A cycling hub like this, run by the community, for the community is development at its best. We have already seen the significant impact our cycling projects have had in Nkandla; this expansion is great news and I am sure will make a long-term impact on those who benefit from it.”
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““We’ve always believed that we have a good programme in place across all eleven districts in the province, and every year we have tens of thousands of youngsters that get included in the various elements, but the new agreement that has been put in place with the Bambisanani Partnership not only endorses the hard work being done by all, but more significantly, allows for longer term strategic planning linked to elements that are going to positively impact on the lives of the people of the Nkandla region. For people in the deep rural areas of KZN, bikes and the linked opportunities that bikes have are life changing. If there were more organisations like the Bambisanani Partnership that got behind development programmes like this, whether here or elsewhere in the world, there would be more smiles on more faces every day…” ”
““I am absolutely delighted to have signed this agreement to work in partnership with KZN Cycling. Our own cycling programmes in the deep rural areas have been a resounding success and it is a wonderful opportunity to be now collaborating with KZN Cycling to bring cycling to thousands more young people. Significantly, this work will also involve the KZN Department of Education and the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation who we have worked closely with for many years. Massive thanks must go to Andy and Alec for working tirelessly to create this pioneering programme.”
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With final preparations now underway the first children will be participating in the programme by early June of this year.
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Best exam results ever bring joy to Mnyakanya School
There were remarkable scenes of joy recently at Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu-Natal when the annual Matriculation (Matric) results were announced with the school gaining its best results ever.
There were remarkable scenes of joy recently at Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu-Natal when the annual Matriculation (Matric) results were announced with the school gaining its best results ever.
Together with St. Mary’s School, Menston in the UK, Mnyakanya helped found the Bambisanani Partnership in 2006. Two years ago, 72% of students passed the Matric exam, which was the best to date, last year the record was broken again with 86% of students passing the exam. This year has seen the school make even further progress with a record 90.5% of students gaining the coveted pass.
The national Matric exam is based on Grade 12 students (final year) having to gain passes in a wide range of individual subject areas. Of 105 students at Mnyakanya, 54 obtained a ‘Bachelor Pass’ which is the entry requirement for university. 28 students achieved a ‘Diploma Pass’ which is the entry requirement for Technical Colleges and 14 students gained the ‘Higher Certificate’ which can provide access to Vocational Colleges.
The spectacular year on year improvement in attainment has brought widespread praise for the school from all parts of the province and beyond. Over the past three years, enrolment at the school has almost doubled with students often travelling many miles, and others even relocating to attend the school. All this has been achieved in the context of the school serving one of the most challenging remote, rural areas in the country with high levels of deprivation, unemployment and health issues. Add to this the impact of Covid, water shortages and daily power outages then what is happening at Mnyakanya is nothing short of remarkable. Teachers at the school have relatively limited resources, yet provide many extra hours of teaching and support for students late into the evening and at weekends.
The Circuit Chief Education Specialist Mr SW Mthethwa visited the school in person to pass on his congratulations: “I decided to leave all that I was supposed to do in my office to come and pass on my sincere words of gratitude to all the teachers who worked extremely hard to shine a light on the name of our circuit, our district and our province as a whole. The hard work and commitment of teachers and learners is highly recognised by everyone.”
The Principal of Mnyakanya School, Mr SV Ngubane said: "It is an honour for us as a school to get these results. These are the results of hard work from both teachers and learners. The commitment of our teachers and students to their work was extraordinary. Our teachers sacrificed their own spare time that they would have been spent with their families, in order to teach our students. Without their remarkable effort and dedication, we wouldn’t have obtained this pass percentage.”
Mrs Pk Zondi a teacher and the Bambisanani Partnership co-ordinator at Mnyakanya said: “Words cannot explain the joy that the Mnyakanya community has because of these the results. They make everybody proud to be at Mnyakanya. It is also amazing that student enrolment has increased by almost 50% in 2023 because of our continued improvement and growing reputation. With the help of the Bambisanani Partnership and Rotary International we have been able to introduce computers to the school and computer-based subjects; this is helping to transform learning and raise levels of aspiration. Such developments are improving the self-esteem of our learners and their hope for the future. I wish to thank everyone who has contributed positively towards the development of our school."
David Geldart, Founder of the Bambisanani Partnership added, “This success is remarkable but not surprising. At Mnyakanya we have teachers that go the extra mile every day for their students. We have students that are prepared to walk two hours to and from school each day because they value and appreciate education. We have been able to bring the internet and computers to the school and the teachers and learners have seized the opportunity; opportunities that many young people in the world would take for granted. Given the new resources it is not at all surprising that these intelligent and resourceful young people are now achieving more. Since the beginning of this partnership, I have been constantly inspired and humbled by the determination and desire of Zulu students to study and learn. Students from other parts of the world have much to learn from these outstanding young people. Massive congratulations must go to the wonderful teachers and learners at Mnyakanya School. These glorious results are nothing less than they deserve for all their hard work!”
South African visit strengthens Bambisanani Partnership
Members of the Bambisanani Partnership team have recently travelled to South Africa in a post Covid ‘Research and Development’ visit to reinstate programmes and to develop new ones.
Members of the Bambisanani Partnership team have recently travelled to South Africa in a post Covid ‘Research and Development’ visit to reinstate programmes and to develop new ones.
Catherine Chattoe, Bambisanani Partnership Coordinator at St. Mary’s, Menston, Barbara Pounder, Bambisanani Trustee and Brogan O’Connor and Barry Rizza from the very latest Bambisanani partner institute, Newcastle College, were able to spend valuable ‘in person time’ with old colleagues and friends as well establishing new contacts and relationships. This follows on from a very effective Research and Development visit made by Bambisanani team members from the University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University last year.
A key element of both trips has been to plan and prepare for the resumption of student volunteer visits later this year. For Newcastle College these would be the first student visits ever to South Africa. Student visits from all four Bambisanani partnership UK based institutions have subsequently been confirmed to the Nkandla region of KwaZulu-Natal from June to August this year.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has been an important Bambisanani partner since the inception of the initiative seventeen years ago. This has been led by Chief Education Advisor, Tony Moodley. The team were able to meet with Tony and his colleague Priscilla Guliwe to be updated on the challenges faced in the deep rural areas. These meetings were incredibly successful and afforded the team the chance to explore emerging opportunities for South African and UK Bambisanani partners to review and strengthen existing programmes as well as to consider new collaborations with both existing partners and potentially new ones.
After three years it was an emotional return to longstanding Bambisanani partners Mnyakanya High School, Ntolwane Primary School and to Doremi Day Care Centre for orphans and vulnerable children. Again, based on local needs, existing and potential programmes were discussed. The visit to Mnyakanya School was aptly timed so that Catherine Chattoe and the team could support the final part of the International Rotary Grant that provided Mnyakanya High School with equipment for a ICT suite of 40 computers and the finances to fund a teacher to deliver the newly introduced Computer Applications Technology (CAT) course at the school. Catherine and the team were on hand to help set up and install the final 20 computers into the suite and meet with the newly appointed CAT teacher; Phakamani Mbambo, the day before teaching would begin at the school. This development, over several years, has contributed to a significant improvement in educational attainment at the school and so it was timely to see new computers arrive and hear about how all of this will further raise standards in the future.
Tony Moodley and Mr Dlamini, Principal of Thembinfundo Special School
Just before the outbreak of Covid the partnership had started to explore the idea of working with Thembinfundo Special School to develop a programme of adapted Physical Education and Sport. The opportunity to visit the school, see the children and meet with the Principal Mr Dlamini simply could not have been replicated by any number of Zoom meetings. Barbara Pounder, who is a specialist in this area, said, “The meeting and whole experience was very positive. There is enormous potential at Theminfundo Special School to support considerable curriculum development and to create volunteer opportunities for UK students. To work with children with such a range of Special Needs in such a warm and encouraging environment could be one of the ways the Bambisanani Partnership makes a significant difference in the future.” The partnership has already committed to providing specialised equipment to the school with support of the Rob Stephenson Trust and there are now plans to start volunteer visits in July.
Several meetings also took place with ‘new’ schools that are keen to join the partnership, these included: Ngqamzane Primary, Thembalesizwe Primary, Enyawoshane Primary, Kwa-Manqondo Primary, Ndukuyakhe Primary, Magqama High and Matholamnyama High. These meetings enabled the team to listen to different partnership possibilities and to explore other areas to develop the Bambisanani Cycling initiative, Cycling for Success, which teaches young people how to both ride and maintain bikes. These meetings were particularly useful for Newcastle College who are looking to establish completely new additional partnerships links within the Bambisanani family.
A major area of success for the partnership during the ‘Covid years’ was the development of the Bambisanani International Athletics Challenge that linked primary schools in the UK and South Africa in fun Athletic Challenges. During the visit the team were able to visit Vumanhlamvu Primary School and provide a Training Workshop for teachers from schools already part of the programme and for schools that will join the programme this year. The training was a great success as indicated by the Vumanhlamvu Principle, Mr William Vilakazi, ‘We feel so blessed to be reconnected in person after Covid 19. Thank you very much for the coaching session you delivered to our local primary school educators. Educators know exactly what to do when it comes to delivering the International Athletic Challenge; they have confidence now and will pass this on to other educators. There was a little bit of confusion previously with some elements of the programme but not now. It has helped our educators a lot. You instilled the love of Athletics to both my educators and learners. It has increased the competition in both sports and in classrooms. Together with the equipment provided we can now interact, compete and learn with educators and learners in the UK on equal terms. We are now well placed to grow the programme further.” William has been instrumental in a number of Bambisanani developments and has coordinated the Athletics Challenge in the area with many schools that had no previous experience of Athletics. Whilst at the school the team were able to deliver more Sinnott 25 football shirts in memory of Jordan Sinnott. Jordan was a big supporter of the Bambisanani Partnership and the Jordan Sinnott Foundation now works in close cooperation with the charity.
A particularly rewarding part of the visit was when Catherine and her team were able to deliver handmade kits designed to help girls who are menstruating. Over 80 South African girls were gifted a kit that provides menstrual care and allows them to manage their periods so that they can attend school every day. The kits were made by a group of volunteers from Aireborough Rotary Club and delivered by the Bambisanani team; the two institutions have been working closely together for 17 years. The South African girls were delighted with the kits and many claimed it allows them to live their lives with dignity.
Other valuable meetings took place with Nick Phillips and Graham Chennells from Eshowe Rotary Club. Nick and Graham are vasty experienced in rural development projects have supported and guided the partnership in a range of projects and programmes over the years. Their insight and advice are a phenomenal asset to the partnership and greatly appreciated.
No Bambisanani visit to South Africa is ever complete without spending time with the longest serving Bambisanani supporters, Logan Govender, Rajes Govender and Mahesh Naidoo and this visit was certainly no exception in that regard. The team were welcomed into the country at the airport by Logan, Rajes and Mahesh and also spent time with them at their home in Durban on the final day of the visit. Every encounter with members of this amazing family encourages, empowers and inspires the work of the partnership and the individuals involved.
Summarising a remarkable week in South Africa, visit leader Catherine Chattoe said, ‘The whole experience was so invaluable, existing connections and friendships have been strengthened and very importantly new relationships have been formed during the visit. We had worked really hard with virtual meetings during the last three years to maintain existing relationships and indeed to develop new ones but nothing quite compares to the very special human connection when meeting and spending time with people in person. The visit has enhanced the capacity of the two countries to work together, existing programmes can now flourish and new ones will be created. The vision for the future looks very exciting.”
Bambisanani Trustee, Brogan O’Connor added, “The visit has been absolutely invaluable for me personally, for Newcastle College and of course for the ongoing development of the partnership. Reconnecting with old friends and creating new contacts was a great learning experience for me. That experience will now certainly lead to a visit to South Africa by staff and students from Newcastle College this summer as we become the latest members of the partnership from the UK. As with every visit to South Africa we have returned home with great positivity, motivation, and a greater understanding of a fascinating culture; all four of us are inspired by the possibilities that lay ahead. We now have a clear vision for the future of Newcastle College as a member the Bambisanani Partnership and we will be spending the next five months working towards making that a reality.”
David Geldart, Founder and Chair of the Bambisanani Partnership was full of praise for the team, “Massive thanks must go to Catherine, Barbara, Brogan and Barry. They have worked extraordinarily hard and have clearly moved the partnership forward, creating a tremendous platform on which to launch our most ambitious year to date. It is difficult to believe that they did so much and achieved so much in such a short time. Their outstanding work will create so many more opportunities now for educators and learners from both countries to ‘work together and learn together’ in the true spirit of Ubuntu and Bambisanani. Their enthusiasm, determination and proactivity are inspirational and are the very reason that we are continually able to achieve so much. Thank you also of course to our amazing and rapidly growing team in South Africa who were so welcoming and made the week so positive and productive. We will build on this.”
The Bambisanani Partnership has this week appointed Richard Giles to its Board of Trustees.
Richard is the Chairman of the highly successful Ilkley Town Community Football Club and former partner at PwC.
Richard is the Chairman of the highly successful Ilkley Town Community Football Club and former partner at PwC.
With over thirty years’ experience in business and finance, at the very highest-level, Richard also has an exceptional record working in both education and sport development. As a Board member he has vast experience of working at national, regional and local level in a variety of settings.
Richard Giles
Richard said: I am absolutely delighted to be joining the board of the Bambisanani Partnership. It is a brilliant Charity that through its focus on sport and education has a transformative impact on the lives of the people and communities in South Africa and also the students from the UK that are involved in its programmes. Some years ago, one of my own children was part of the Bambisanani group from St. Mary’s School to visit South Africa. He came back a different person with a much wider understanding of the world and its different challenges. I believe my experience in business and community sport can help the Partnership in the next stage of its development. Working with many Boards in different roles has given me the experience of working in partnership with many stakeholders to achieve results. It also gives me an understanding of the importance of governance and the role of non-executives in providing oversight to management. I am really excited at the prospect of contributing to an organisation that genuinely does change lives and the way that young people, in both countries, see and engage with the wider world.”
David Geldart, Founder and Chairman of the Bambisanani Partnership added, “Richard is vastly experienced in working with and developing high performance teams in a variety of contexts. He absolutely understands what we are about as a charity and is keen to play his part in helping us have an even greater impact in the future. Richard recognises, and is highly motivated by, the enormous potential of sport to make a positive difference in the world. He is both passionate and proactive about this and we know that he will be a great asset to the team as we embark on our most ambitious plans to date.”
Bambisanani Partnership schools lead the way in Pope Francis’ call for Sport for All
Member schools of the Bambisanani Partnership from the Nkandla region of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and from Leeds in the UK have become the first schools in the world to pledge their support to Pope Francis’ global appeal to make sport more cohesive, accessible and inclusive.
Member schools of the Bambisanani Partnership from the Nkandla region of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and from Leeds in the UK have become the first schools in the world to pledge their support to Pope Francis’ global appeal to make sport more cohesive, accessible and inclusive.
At the Global Sport for All Summit last September, Pope Francis outlined the potential of sport as a positive force in society. The Summit was a multifaith event attended by 250 delegates from 40 countries representing the world’s leading sporting organisations and practitioners. The aim was to discuss and promote the social and inclusive dimension of sport in society. It was in response to Pope Francis’ encouragement of sport that is socially responsible and his appeals to foster sport as a means of human, educational and spiritual growth. The Summit produced a Declaration calling on all those involved to commit to making sport more cohesive, accessible and tailored to each person. With the momentum and guidance of the experts convened at the Summit, participants pledged to walk together – communiter – to achieve common goals and aspirations. On the final day of the Summit, delegates signed the Sport for All Declaration in the presence of Pope Francis. As such, signatories committed to bringing the Declaration to life. Fundamental to this task is the understanding that the Declaration is not just a statement of principles, but a Declar-Action, an invitation to concrete actions; using the power of sport for the future of society. Subsequently, an online version of the Declaration has become available to sign.
In his speech to delegates Pope Francis said: “I encourage you to strive to make sport a home for everyone, something open and welcoming. In this home, never lose the family spirit, for in this way, we may find brothers, sisters and friends in the world of sport. I am close to you in this mission; the Church supports you in this educational and social commitment.”
The first group of schools from the UK to sign the Declaration was The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust of 13 schools from Leeds, including individual commitments from high school, St. Mary’s, Menston (Bambisanani Partnership Founding School), and primary schools: St. Mary’s, Horsforth, St. Joseph’s, Otley; St Joseph’s, Knaresborough and St. Joseph’s, Harrogate. The first schools in South Africa to sign were Mnyakanya High School (Bambisanani Founding School) and Vumanhlamvu Primary School.
David Geldart signing the declaration at the Vatican
The Bambisanani Partnership charity works with schools in the UK and South Africa using the power of sport to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership; bringing young people from both countries together in order ‘to work together and learn together’. The charity has gained international acclaim for its pioneering work and its Founder David Geldart was a delegate at the Summit. David said: “It was a great honour to attend this landmark Summit and of course to meet Pope Francis who truly believes in the potential of sport as a force for good in the world. I am absolutely delighted that our schools from Leeds and the remote Nkandla region of South Africa have become the first schools in their respective countries, and indeed the world, to sign the Declaration and show their commitment to the power of sport within education. Hopefully more schools throughout the world will now follow.Organisations and individuals from around the world have now signed the Declaration. First to sign the Declaration at the Summit was Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, so we are in good company! The potential of high quality, inclusive Physical Education and Sports programmes in our schools, colleges and universities to make a unique and significant contribution in this area is enormous. Educational establishments throughout world that value sport and believe passionately that it should genuinely be for all; cohesive, accessible and inclusive, should sign the Declaration, they could add so much to what needs to be a ‘team effort’. I would love to see a network of schools, colleges and universities through the world commit to this challenge and work collaboratively as advocates to share best practices, celebrate success and support each other in solidarity. In our small way the Bambisanani Partnership has got the ball rolling. If you share this vision of sport, you are very much invited to play!”
Darren Beardsley, CEO of the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust said: “As an Academy Trust of 13 schools, we are delighted to be able to support the Sport for All summit declaration. We witness the power of sport in our schools on a daily basis and how it can be used to enhance the wider skills and development of our pupils. Sport plays an important role in social cohesion and this is particularly important when we take into account the challenges faced by wider society in today's world. The declaration highlights the importance of sport being cohesive, accessible and tailored. Our schools are welcoming organisations, where we work with our communities to meet the needs of all individuals, therefore our values and mission align with that of the declaration. Finally, the Declaration is a call to Declar-Action and we are privileged to be part of such a dynamic agreement.”
Those who wish to support declaration can sign it on the website www.sportforall.va
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