Two New Learners Awarded Agri-Bursaries

January 2023 Two high school learners from the communities of Humansdorp and Patensie, have been selected to receive bursaries to attend Marlow Agricultural High School in Cradock and will begin their studies this week. This forms part of an agricultural bursary programme aimed at providing financial support to promising young high-school learners, who have an interest and passion for agriculture.

“We developed this programme, which aims to address the lack of agricultural skills in our communities by providing financial support for learners to pursue studies in this field – thereby developing a pipeline of scarce skills,” explained Tsholofelo Moote, Economic Development Specialist at Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm, which funds this as part of its socio-economic development programme. As of its launch in January 2021, a total of three learners from communities situated close to the wind farm, are now being supported by this industry specific bursary programme. In order to qualify for this opportunity, learners were assessed on their academic performance, interest in agriculture, adaptability to the new school environment, and their sporting interests.

“I believe studying agriculture will teach Solani a number of things, and he'll discover that agriculture encompasses much more than just becoming a farmer, as it includes a multiple of disciplines. My hope is for him to become an agri-teacher, teaching other farm boys from the community to think beyond the world of agriculture and help them to see the potential for giving back to their community one day,” expressed Jeanelene Millicent, mother of Solani Luciano Othando, a 2023 beneficiary. This all-inclusive bursary covers tuition, accommodation, and travel fees, and will continue supporting all three learners, as well as additional learners to be identified at the end of the year, until they complete their final Matric year. “We are very excited about this partnership. Luchen Louw, our first bursary recipient who has been at the agri school for a year now, is very happy and he is progressing well both academically and personally. We look forward to our relationship with Marlow Agricultural High School continuing to strengthen, so that we can continue to help provide a better future for these deserving young students,” concluded Moote.