Palabora Foundation awards outstanding learners
2008-11-24
Some of Ba-Phalaborwa’s top achievers from grade 8 to 12 were awarded for their hard work and commitment at an exuberant prizegiving ceremony held at Lulekani town hall on 22 November. The learners who received prizes are all registered on the PROTEC, Technokidz and Master Maths programmes run by Rio Tinto Palabora Mining Company/Palabora Foundation in association with various sponsors. The ceremony was the first to celebrate the achievements of the Technokidz learners (grade 8 to 9) whose programme started in May this year.
Hundreds of learners, their families and invited guests were present to congratulate the brightest and best on their achievements in maths, science, English and other subjects. Certificates and vouchers or calculators were awarded to the ten best learners in each category, with the top learners receiving trophies and R100 vouchers. The learners were 
in an excitable mood, full of whoops and cheers for their fellow students.
Past recipients of the awards, now at university or at work, gave short speeches to encourage the learners. Bridget Makhura, a former PROTEC student, announced to applause that she had graduated and gone on to achieve a Masters in Chemistry before starting work for a synthetic diamond company in Springs. She urged the current PROTEC learners to use the programme as a springboard to greater things. A more recent PROTEC graduate, now studying at the University of Cape Town, paid tribute to Bridget, saying that it was encouraging to see a woman of this age in such a place. Other former students urged the Palabora Foundation and the sponsors to “carry on doing the great job you’re doing” and urged the 
youngsters to take full advantage of the opportunities being offered to them. All of them agreed that they wouldn’t be where they are now without the assistance and support of PROTEC.
The keynote speech was delivered by Danie du Toit of Rio Tinto Palabora Mining Company, who was pleased to see so many people at the event to show their support. He began by saying that the mine can sleep easy knowing that their funding is being well-used. He illustrated the success of the PROTEC programme by quoting the university exemption figures: while national exemption ran at 15% in 2006, and Phalaborwa District managed 18%, the PROTEC exemption figure for that year was 84% – showing that PROTEC really does make a “big, big difference”.
Mr du Toit continued that the mine is focusing on recruiting from the local population because the employees are more likely to stay with the mine than incomers from different areas. “Your parents work for us”, he said. “We’ve got space for you, too”. While recent years have concentrated on increasing the number of engineers, he urged the learners to consider other avenues such as commerce and accountancy, which are also in great demand. He also thanked the other sponsor of PROTEC for their continued support.
The prizegiving was interspersed with tributes from grateful PROTEC students, including choral verse, a song, a drama, and an emotional poem written especially for Marc Demmer, the outgoing director of Palabora Foundation. Performed by Jessica Luphondo, winner of the Best Grade 11 Learner award amongst 
others, the poem was a moving tribute to Mr Demmer’s many years of dedication to the Foundation’s work, particularly in the field of education. Mr Demmer responded with a farewell speech, where he thanked the Foundation’s staff for their hard work and the community for their support and asked them to offer the same to acting director Malesela Letsoalo. He finished his speech abruptly, emotions clearly visible, and left to assist his wife with packing up their home ready for the imminent move to Indonesia.
Thanks go to Rio Tinto Palabora Mining Company/Palabora Foundation for organising the event, as well as Fr PJ Fitzgerald (opening devotions), Ernest Ngobeni (master of ceremonies), the many representatives of the programmes’ sponsors, and the parent representative committees of Leboneng and Rixile Education Centres.
Rio Tinto Palabora Mining Company, Foskor Ltd and Sasol Nitro are the major sponsors of the PROTEC programme in Phalaborwa. The other sponsors are Standard Bank, Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Lepelle Northern Water, GAGE Specialists, Professional Career Consultants, Mopani South-East FET College, Phalaborwa Chamber of Business, Eskom, Gears Technologies and the Department of Education.
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Run with assistance from the European Union