Voorspoed Mine Salutes 75 Top Students

The laptops, equipped with software, were awarded to the best performers in the Matric Class of 2016. They were handed over last month, most at the Provincial Department of Education’s ‘Well Done Function’ in Bloemfontein.

Malcom Hendrickse, the mine’s General Manager, said: “These laptops are provided to equip the learners with the necessary tools that will assist them when doing their assignments at tertiary institutions.

“As a De Beers operation, we pride ourselves on one of our values, one of which is ‘shaping the future’. We thus hope that these learners will be able to rise to new frontiers and excel in their various fields of study, thus brightening their own future.

“At Voorspoed Mine, we do not see this contribution as a one-off event, but rather as part of a bigger vision where we seek to leave a meaningful legacy, with lasting impact in our communities.”

The donation was part of the mine’s continuing support for education, which has involved a series of programmes to: boost maths and physical science, benefiting 200 students in five schools in the Ngwathe and Moqhaka municipalities; improve school facilities in those areas; reform teaching and contribute to the development of a best practice model for South Africa; and provide higher education students with subsidies to cover part of their academic costs.

These programmes have been implemented in close partnership with the Department of Education in the Free State and particularly in the Fezile Dabi District.

The overall pass rate for the Free State Province in 2016 was 93.2 per cent. “We believe that this remarkable achievement is a product of many years of planning and hard work by the provincial department of education, teachers, school governing bodies and learners in the province,” Malcom added.

Fezile Dabi District Municipality celebrated its achievements at an event at Rebatla-Thutho Secondary School in Kwakwatsi, Koppies on 28 January, where a further 10 laptops were donated by Voorspoed Mine to the best performing township schools for achieving a 100 per cent pass rate.

The Fezile Dabi District Municipality achieved an overall pass rate of 91.8 per cent, the first time the district has scored above 90 per cent.

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to ‘Building Forever’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

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