While the development of Richmond Park, in Cape Town, by Atterbury and its partners is steaming ahead, the community development and support programme is also delivering its first results, thanks to the efforts of the ace team of the Richmond Park Treasury Trust (CPTT), including trustee Charles Marthinussen, who is also the principal of Atlantis Secondary School, administrator Jolene van Schalkwyk and Zahn Hulme. We got the lowdown on the achievements so far from Charles and Atterbury’s Zahn Hulme, who is also a trustee and advisor to the Richmond Park Treasury Trust.

Charles, as one of the highly respected local high school principals for more than 20 years, you know the Atlantis community and potential students well and are instrumental in making recommendations for the bursary programme. How are the bursary recipients selected?
We’re committed to ensuring that deserving children from the Richmond Park community have access to training and education commensurate with their matric results and ability. To qualify for a bursary to study at a college or university, a student has to have earned a National Diploma pass or a Bachelors pass in matric. Young people who don’t qualify for university or college entry will be offered the opportunity to enter the short-course and skills-development programmes. We are committed to do our utmost to secure the necessary funds for the future of Richmond Park’s youth, and we rely on the community to adhere to our processes and the criteria to ensure that this rolls out effectively.

What do you believe is the value of this bursary programme for the community?
For me this really is a project of hope and opportunity. It’s so important that Richmond Park’s youth embrace the opportunity and recognise this chance to invest in their future. From our side we’re committed to facilitate access to tertiary institutions in the Western Cape and elsewhere in the country, as long as the potential bursary students ensure they work hard to meet those institutions’ criteria for study.

Zahn, you recently spent time with the first group of bursary students from Atlantis. How have they settled in?
The Richmond Park Treasury Trust funded nine students last year, as well as three short courses. Three of the students are aiming to become teachers, there is also a journalism student (the dream is to involve her in documenting the Richmond Park story), a law student and a graphic-design student; plus one each studying dental technology, travel and tourism, and clothing technology. For the short courses we try to specifically support the local West Coast College, and funded welding, PA and engineering courses. The majority of the students settled in well and passed all their subjects in 2016. As we have to ensure the longevity and sustainability of our available resources, we have given specific guidelines on candidates to be funded through the Trust. It is important to mention that bursary loans are repayable on an interest free basis by our students as we want to ensure longevity of the Trust to be able to assist future generations.

How many new students from the community are there this year?
We brought nine new students on board in 2017. Enzio Ryan is our first Matie, at the University of Stellenbosch, and he is studying law. Then we have two students at Unisa, studying teaching and a BA respectively; two at the University of the Western Cape, doing a BCom and a post-graduate qualification respectively; and another at Damelin, who is studying industrial psychology. We’re also funding a number of short courses to enable students to find jobs and support their families, such as installing fibre-optic cables and operating overhead cranes.

Can you share one story of a student who has really made an excellent go of it?
We can do better than one! Two students achieved 70 percent or more: Melory Beziek averaged 74 percent at Northlink College studying for her qualification in clothing production; and Saskia Brown had a 70 percent average in her first year of her diploma in Media and Graphic design at Damelin. Three more exceeded 60 percent: Donelle Wicomb got 64 percent in her second year of teacher training at Unisa; Rozanne Hendricks, 64 percent in her first year studying teaching, also at Unisa, and Rushmiyah Simons, 63 percent studying for a BEd at Cape Town University of Technology. We are very proud of these hardworking young women.

 If a benefactor wants to sponsor a student from the community, how would they go about it?
While the Richmond Park Treasury Trust is still in the process of obtaining its PBO status, the best way to go about it is to make a donation to the Atterbury Trust and communicate the intention to zahn@atterbury.co.za. That way the donor gets the tax benefit of their donation. We will allocate the funds to the Richmond Park Treasury Trust in the interim.

RICHMOND PARK TREASURY TRUST BURSARY REQUIREMENTS

  • Bursaries will only be awarded for studies at government institutions for qualifications that are SAQA registered.
  • Bursaries are intended for students who will study towards a professional qualification that will render them employable on the Richmond Park project (for example quantity surveyors, engineers, chartered accountants, and degrees such as BSc Project Management and other property-development-related qualifications) or equip them to serve the Richmond Park community as, for example, teachers, medical personnel and so on
  • The completed bursary loan application must be accompanied by the following:
  • Proof that the applicant qualifies with the entry requirement of the relevant institution.
  • Proof that application forms were submitted to the university.
  • Proof of preliminary acceptance at the university.
  • Proof that NSFAS submission for funding has been submitted.
  • Proof of household income (payslips of parents).

 For inquiries about the bursary programme, contact Jolene van Schalkwyk on treasury@richmondparkcpa.co.za or 021 5720163