Welcome to the Bitou 10 Foundation

The Bitou 10 Education and Development Foundation evolved out of the Cadbury School Development Initiative in 2006, as an Association incorporated under section 21 of The Companies Act, 1973.

In response to a request from late President Nelson Mandela, Cadbury SA approached community leaders in Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) to assist them in supplying seed funding and organizational skills to support a project which would benefit the education of children in the Bitou region. The Foundation was officially launched by Naledi Pandor, the then Minister of Education, on 1 November 2007.

Since 2007, The Bitou 10 Foundation has provided support services to 11 government schools and about 30 Early Childhood Development (ECD) sites – about 8000 children and 200 teachers. 80% of these schools are based in under-resourced, semi-rural communities and townships around Plettenberg Bay.

We work in consultation with the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) local circuit team. Through our collaboration, we aim to achieve common goals and to enhance education in the Bitou region.

By working with the WCED, the Bitou government schools, the ECD sector, other local non-profit organisations, child development specialists and our funders, we address key factors that impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Together we have developed effective, successful and innovative approaches to address the challenges and inequalities in our education system.

This year, we were supported by ApexHi Charitable Trust, National Lotteries Commission, Vesco Plastics, Charities Unlimited, Bitou Municipality, Zoe Carss Educational Trust, Western Cape Government/Rage for Good and local individual donors.

We provided support to the eleven government schools and the ECD sites, based on needs identified by the Western Cape Education Department Circuit 4 and the ECD managers.

Supporting schooling for excellence

What We Do

We function as facilitators of local conversations that lead to collaborative local partnerships which support and promote the ever improving quality of the education environment for Bitou children.

We work closely with local government and with the WCED to support and enhance developments in that environment.

Our focus is on the child’s education journey.

We strive to promote a Culture of Collaboration that places The Bitou Child as the Primary Client and Beneficiary in all efforts to raise the education standards and experience of our children.

Welcome to the Bitou 10 Foundation

The Bitou 10 Education and Development Foundation evolved out of the Cadbury School Development Initiative in 2006, as an Association incorporated under section 21 of The Companies Act, 1973.

In response to a request from late President Nelson Mandela, Cadbury SA approached community leaders in Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) to assist them in supplying seed funding and organizational skills to support a project which would benefit the education of children in the Bitou region. The Foundation was officially launched by Naledi Pandor, the then Minister of Education, on 1 November 2007.

Since 2007, The Bitou 10 Foundation has provided support services to 11 government schools and about 30 Early Childhood Development (ECD) sites – about 8000 children and 200 teachers. 80% of these schools are based in under-resourced, semi-rural communities and townships around Plettenberg Bay.

We work in consultation with the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) local circuit team. Through our collaboration, we aim to achieve common goals and to enhance education in the Bitou region.

By working with the WCED, the Bitou government schools, the ECD sector, other local non-profit organisations, child development specialists and our funders, we address key factors that impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Together we have developed effective, successful and innovative approaches to address the challenges and inequalities in our education system.

This year, we were supported by ApexHi Charitable Trust, National Lotteries Commission, Vesco Plastics, Charities Unlimited, Bitou Municipality, Zoe Carss Educational Trust, Western Cape Government/Rage for Good and local individual donors.

We provided support to the eleven government schools and the ECD sites, based on needs identified by the Western Cape Education Department Circuit 4 and the ECD managers.

Supporting schooling for excellence

What We Do

We function as facilitators of local conversations that lead to collaborative local partnerships which support and promote the ever improving quality of the education environment for Bitou children.

We work closely with local government and with the WCED to support and enhance developments in that environment.

Our focus is on the child’s education journey.

We strive to promote a Culture of Collaboration that places The Bitou Child as the Primary Client and Beneficiary in all efforts to raise the education standards and experience of our children.

Our Programmes Requiring Funding

We have a vision of holistic development of the independent child supported by committed role players; our mission is to facilitate, support and develop initiatives that promote the holistic, integrated education journey of every Bitou child; given the nature of our work in education and development, as an NPO there is the ongoing need for funding in order for us to implement and sustain the programmes we have designed to achieve this development; these currently include:

1. EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD)

1.1   Early Childhood Development Level 5 Bursaries

Bursaries for the professional development of ECD practitioners from Bitou.

The bursary covers all tuition fees, accommodation, meals and travel expenses to attend training in Oudtshoorn, at the Klein Karoo Resource Centre, for one week each month.

1.2   Occupational Therapy Training Workshops – ECD and Grade R

The first patterns of learning and behaviour that influence the rest of development are set down in the early years of a child’s life. There are certain critical periods during the early years when a child is most responsive to learning experiences. A child’s environment and early experiences, particularly if these are nurturing or depriving, have a major effect on development and learning. Both greatly influence the degree to which a child reaches his/her full potential.

Our contracted occupational therapists support the teachers in this regard, by teaching methods which analyse the learning opportunities in activities, thus training them how to adapt and grade lessons according to the level that suits all learners in the classroom. 

Workshops have been presented since the second term of 2017, to two separate groups; namely Grade R teachers and practitioners working with children ages 3-5 years.

1.3   ECD Capacity Building for Managers

The provision of quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) is dependent on the skills and experience of ECD managers and practitioners, the quality of the facilities as well as the quantity, variety and quality of educational resources available to the children.

By building capacity among ECD managers, they will become empowered to improve the quality of their ECD facilities in accordance to the standards required by the Department of Social Development.

2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MANAGEMENT & TEACHERS

The workshops are facilitated by Dianne de Villiers, educational specialist.

The Reading and Writing sessions were practical and informative. Teachers are shown how to level readers according to ability and are also given the Burt Word recognition test to determine reading ages.

3. LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Reading and English Programme

The Reading and English Programme which is based on and inspired by the Shine Centre in Cape Town, has now run for three years, reaching over 1 000 Grade 3 learners in Kwanokuthula.

In 2017, the programme reached all the Grade 3 learners at Phakamisani Primary School and Kwanokuthula Primary School. With the medium of instruction changing from isiXhosa (Grades 1-3) to English in Grade 4, it is imperative that Grade 3 learners in Kwanokuthula achieve age appropriate literacy skills to be able to effectively access the curriculum.

The Reading and English Programme incorporates paired reading, phonics, writing, conversation and shared reading using carefully selected reading and learning materials. The learners attend the programme twice a week for 30 minutes sessions.

Volunteers work on a one to one or two to one basis. Learner progress is carefully monitored with diagnostic assessments administered twice quarterly. Each learner has a record book which is used by the volunteers to record progress and concerns to enable learners to move successfully through the graded reading scheme and areas of weakness can be addressed. Meetings with teachers are held twice each quarter.

3.2 Wordworks – Ready Steady Read Write Programme

Wordworks is a South African non-profit organisation that focuses on early language and literacy development in the first eight years of children’s lives. Since 2005 they have worked in under-resourced communities with those adults best positioned to impact on young children’s language and literacy development – parents and caregivers, family and community members, home-visitors, early childhood development practitioners and Grade R to Grade 3 teachers.

They advocate for children to have access to multilingual, language-rich stories and books, as well as meaningful experiences with print. Being aware that letter-sound knowledge and phonological awareness are key predictors of whether children learn to read and write, they have developed resources and guidelines to support these important foundations for literacy.

The Bitou 10 Foundation in partnership with Wordworks has begun preparations to establish a Wordworks site at Kranshoek Primary, for Grade R to Grade 3 learners.

4. COMPUTERS FOR AFRICA

In partnership with Computers for Africa, The Bitou 10 Foundation has assisted the Bitou schools in obtaining computer hardware to set up computer labs in their schools.

In 2017, after a visit from the three directors of Computers for Africa; J. Verschuren, S. Krige and B. Schotpoort, the schools worked together to re-distribute excess stock in their labs, which was needed in other school labs.

This enabled some schools to set up computers for their teaching and administrative staff.

5. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Career Guidance: Practical Online Sessions

Sixolise Mtirara, a local Computer Shop business owner, facilitated practical online sessions with the Grade 12 learners from Plettenberg Bay Secondary School & Murray High School. The sessions focused on the following:

• Assisting the learners with registering for the National Benchmark Test and getting reference numbers and dates for the test.
• Assisting the learners with registering online for University entry for 2018

Substance Awareness and Character Transformation Sessions

Our initial target for the alcohol and drug awareness campaign were the Gr. 8 & 9s, however the principals advised that we include all learners. Redefined 101, a local Non-Profit organisation, facilitated the awareness campaign through an educational play at each school. The play focused on how young people get ‘lured’ into substance abuse as well as the dangers and consequences of substance abuse. The reactions learners had towards the play indicated that many of them are more than familiar with the use of different substances.

The facilitators proceeded with a question and answer session after the play. Learners were asked if they knew where the hotspots were in their communities and whether different substances are easily available.

Character Transformation Sessions

After the awareness campaign, School Based Support Teams (SBST) at both Plettenberg Bay Secondary and Murray High identified learners who are at risk and who are participating in substance abuse. Redefined 101 facilitated ‘Character Transformation’ sessions.

Before and after each session the participants completed a self-evaluation assessment. All participants were assessed after the intervention. Redefined 101 facilitated 4 one-hour sessions at each school. 14 learners from each school between the ages of 13 to 18 participated in these sessions.

6. INTER-SCHOOL MAGAZINE

The aim of the Magazine is to give learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively and to improve reading and writing skills. Participating schools (Kwanokuthula Primary, Phakamisani Primary, Crags Primary, Harkerville Primary, Kranshoek Primary and Plettenberg Bay Secondary) submitted content which included art work, stories, poetry, songs, jokes, dedications etc.

This issue has been an enriching and rewarding experience for the teachers and the learners who had participated.

We printed 300 copies of the Interschool Magazine, which was distributed to all participating schools.

7. LEARNER SUPPORT PROGRAMME

To give children a better chance in life the Bitou 10 Foundation contracted local professional therapists and psychologists to provide the following:

1. Training sessions for School Based Support Teams
2. Play and Art Therapy to treat children with emotional, social and behavioural problems
3. The ‘Group Visualisation’ Process to help release and heal emotional pain
4. Life Skills Training Sessions to assist ‘at risk’ learners to make positive changes

7. MATHEMATICS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

In consultation with the WCED Circuit 4 Manager, Suzette de Villiers, it was agreed to continue with on-the-job training in 2017, but to include the Grade 3 teachers. A strategy was needed to equip teachers with the necessary skills to prepare learners for the 2017 Systemic Evaluations written in the fourth term.

Each teacher received a written report with recommendations regarding the learning environment, discipline, planning (worksheets, homework, learner-centered activities, mental math exercises), marking/control of learner books and absenteeism. This report was discussed with the Principal of each school, who will monitor and report on the intervention.

8. SIX BRICKS PROGRAMME

Six Bricks is a concept designed to excite and motivate young children in the classroom to attain the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for success in later life. To help the formation of a young learner’s brain, developmentally appropriate early experiences and relationships are vital. To grasp concepts, children must be given time to manipulate concrete tools. They need opportunities to use their whole body to explore and aid their development of ideas, curiosity and imagination.

The Six Bricks activities are short, simple exercises or games designed to wake up the brain and get the child moving, thinking and remembering. They are not intended to be a curriculum, but they do support all areas of development within the curriculum. 

1. What type of organisation are you? Non Profit

2. Are you registered as a Public Benefit Organisation? Yes, NPO Number 050 207

3. Are you able to issue a Section 18A certificate to donors so that their donations are tax-deductable? Yes, VAT Number 423023130

4. What % of my donation does the organisation receive? For any programme funding that requires our facilitation and support we factor in a very modest administration fee. However, we distinguish between core funding and programme funding; it is in implementing programmes that we factor in administration costs.

5. How will my donation be used? Supporting the improvement in the quality of the education journey in Bitou as facilitated by ourselves can be done through the making of either undesignated or designated donations.

Undesignated donations

The option of becoming a Friend of The Bitou 10 Foundation is open to everyone from individuals and families to Trusts and businesses; this entails becoming a Member of the Foundation with an annual renewable membership fee subject to our satisfactory report back and acknowledgement of what your membership fee has enabled us to do. You will receive a quarterly newsletter, copies of each issue of our children’s Interschool Magazine, and a copy of our annual Progress Report.

Becoming a member is a true vote of confidence in the work we do as well as in our integrity and transparency. These donations will contribute either to core funding or be directed to a discretionary Member Cost Centre we would dearly love and need to build; this would allow us to meet a special need when requested by one of our schools to do so, for example: transport for a group of children to the beach for a marine ecology lesson, or to cover an individual child’s sports kit who has been selected to play soccer for the region.

Designated donations

The alternative option is Programme Funding which is a donation in support of a specific programme, for example Literacy or Numeracy support, or support for children with special learning needs to mention but a few. These donations are tagged, cannot be used for any other purpose and are allocated to a programme-specific Cost Centre.

Details on, and an online payment facility for, both designated and undesignated support options will be available on our website soon; in the interim kindly contact Executive Director Hilary Matthews for assistance with making your tax deductible donation.

In the interest of transparency our books are public documents – the salaries we earn, the rent we pay and all other details of our Office Costs are open for public scrutiny – we encourage you to request a copy of our monthly reconciliations, visit our office for a look at our financial records, or contact our financial officer Sean O’Connell of Andrews O’ Connor.

Give us Your Time

Contact us and let’s have a conversation! Once we start conversations we build relationships and the gaps for service and assistance become clear!

Our Wish List

Our key wish if for sustained local support, monetary or in kind

Make a Cash Donation

Name of Account: The Bitou 10 Foundation Bank: First National Bank Branch: Plettenberg Bay Branch Code: 210 514 Account Number 62103279510

Our Donors and Partners

Our Donors

Our Founder Funders are:

Bitou Municipality Peter Gain Our core funders are: Anglo American Chairman’s Fund Oppenheimer Memorial Trust DG Murray Trust supports our Interschool Magazine Programme Local donors include: Bitou Municipality The Lubner Charitable Family Trust The Wally Brink Trust Rotary Club of Plettenberg Bay Laurie Chiappini Anne Hrabar Liz McGrath Romey and Robin Hope Inge Joest Our Partnerships We are committed to promoting the Dinokeng ‘Walking together’ scenario and establishing collaborative partnerships. We work closely with our local schools, our Principals Forum, the Bitou Municipality and all local NGOs involved in education development. We also consult regularly with the WCED at provincial, district and circuit levels and enjoy established partnerships with Dreamfields and The Field Band Foundation.