CONCLUSION

American trainer and author Sue Vineyard said: “When we recognise that a better word for Fundraising is ‘friend raising’, we open limitless doors to creativity in support of our causes”. The recent Soweto rugby match and the Soccer World Cup proved again how much is possible when we all work together as friends, united in a common cause. In my annual report last year I wrote about my experience with the Dinokeng scenarios, an Old Mutual-sponsored scenario-planning exercise where a number of people considered different future scenarios for South Africa. There were the ‘walk apart’ and ‘walk behind’ scenarios which effectively separated government and citizens and were not recommended. And then there was the ‘walk together’ which is self-explanatory. I want to reiterate that if we can engage in a continuous process of listening to and learning from each other, in the cause of the greater good, there will be no stopping us.

I’ve said this before but I must go on saying it because we are not there yet. Time is getting short. Each year which ends with hundreds of thousands of inadequately educated, spiritually and emotionally deprived young people spilling out onto the streets of our country is just another nail in the coffin of a productive, energetic, optimistic and successful nation.

A Chinese proverb tells us – “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people”.

We have, as a nation, achieved much in the last fifteen years but still find ourselves short on achieving our full potential in terms of quality education. It is globally recognised that education is a powerful tool in poverty eradication, so much so that the Millennium Development Goals list ‘eradication of poverty and hunger’ and ‘universal education’ as the first two goals. If we are to see South Africa reach its full potential we need to see our young people well educated and enabled to take their place in society as citizens who will make a difference.

To paraphrase the famous recruitment poster: the HSRP needs YOU! It needs your support, your energy, your caring, your integrity, your sense of responsibility and – more practically – your money, time and resources. It will only be then that we will see the potential of this great country fully achieved. I urge you to become involved and make a difference in the lives of our learners, both present and future.