Vutivi I Ndzhaka (VIN), in partnership with De Beers Ambassador for Good held a successful combined Career Day and Awards Ceremony on the 1st of February 2020 at Scotch Maboko Secondary School, Mulati Village, Tzaneen. This report aims to provide VIN’s valued stakeholders with the summary of the combined Career Day and Award Ceremony as follows:
Events activations
The events were announced through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and LinkedIn from the 11th of November 2019 until the 1st of February 2020. From first day, VIN ran various activations messages in various formats which included short videos and written messages. Short videos on social media were done by previous awardees, VIN’s chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Secretary. The themes of the activation messages ranged from VIN awareness, previous VIN events, benefits of charitable giving and donations, ways to take part in VIN activities, brief introduction of the Career Day and Award Ceremony, including introduction of the guest speakers, to mention but a few.
Congratulations to VIN’s sister organisation
Be_proud is an NGO founded in 2018 by young visionary ladies from the community, with the aim of inspiring and motivating young girls to confidently pursue their dreams and to fulfil their full potential. VIN Congratulates the organisation’s sister organisation #Be_proud for successfully hosting the 2019 Motivational and Empowerment Event held on the 21st of December 2019 at Bonn Apostolic Faith Mission Church. The goal of the event was to motivate and educate the village youth on various topics such as life after teenage pregnancy, self-esteem and selfconfidence, career in the sporting and entertainment industry (is education required) and ganderbased violence. VIN’s role in this event included sponsorship, advices and advertisements. #Be_proud members also play an important role in VIN activities. #Be_Proud’s detailed report is available on request and for more information please do contact #Be_Proud’s Secretory Ms. Ntsakisi Maluleke on 084 707 5083 or ntsakisi42@gmail.com.
Planning meetings
Various planning meetings were held both in Johannesburg and in Sedan Village Tzaneen. Of significance is the stakeholder meeting held on the 18th of January 2020 at Sedan Secondary School. In this meeting, the 2019 matric results were reviewed, and it was concluded that the results were poor which was attributed to four main issues:
- Availability of teachers in schools;
- School leadership challenges;
- Social issues affecting the learner moral; and
- Management of progressed learners.
Based on the poor results, the gala dinner and award ceremony was cancelled, and awards were included as part of the career day programme. Hence, the Career Day was renamed the Combined Career Day and Award Ceremony.
Introduction
The Career Day was held at Scotch Maboko Secondary School, Mulati Village. Learners were ferried from their respective schools to the host school, thanks to the support received from VIN’s sponsors. More than 1000 learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12 came from all the neighbouring villages of Mafarana, Bonn, Sedan and Mulati.
Learners from the four schools 
The Career Day was split into two sessions; with the first session being a joint seating and the second part, a breakaway session. In the breakaway session, the teams were split into three: with Grade 12 in the main school hall, while Grade 10 and 11 were located in the second school hall and Grade 9 and 8 in a classroom.
Opening and Welcome
The joint seating was held at the tent that was setup at the school and it was chaired by Mr M.W. Mavulwana, the principal of Sedan Secondary School. This session was opened with a prayer by Pastor Molepo whose main message to the learners was that their future looks bright and that they have something to offer the world. He added that learners need to, borrowing from his language “push, push, push” in order for them not to deny the world their talent. Mr C.M. Mushwana, the principal of Scotch Maboko Secondary School welcomed all attendees.
Mr. M.W. Mavulwana 
Pastor Molepo 
Mr C.M. Mushwana
Purpose of the event
Purpose of the day and overview of results was done by Mr. T.R Shikwambaba, VIN’s senior advisor. The purpose of the day included:
- Honouring and celebrating the matric class of 2019 best achievers;
- Sharing career experience by various speakers and providing overview of career options.
Mr Shikwambana alluded to the disappointing results and stressed a need to strive for improvement. He encouraged the learners by emphasising that an individual is not judged by how many times they have fallen but by how many times they got back up after falling.
Remarks by VIN’s Chairperson
The Chairperson for VIN, Mr J.M. Rikhotso gave remarks on behalf of the Organisation. He stated that the quality of village education needs to improve, for it is the only proper product that can be sent to the world, through skills developed via leaning. He added that Mafarana, Bonn, Sedan and Mulati should not remain villages forever, and that in itself depends on the quality of professionals that the villages produce. The learners where challenged to prepare for their future as they will be competing on global platforms.
Mr Rikhotso also challenged the community to take a stand against sexual relations between elderly men, including teachers, and learners. He emphasised that decisive action must be taken against such behaviour.
Introduction of quest speaker & Address by quest speaker
The guest speaker was Dr R. Setino (MCPS) (PhD) who was introduced by Ms Y.Y Mashau as the Non-Executive Board member at African Institute for Supply Chain Research and an Executive Director at Bombardier Transport South Africa. Dr. Setino is said to hold numerous qualifications in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Business Management from UNISA, University of Johannesburg, University of Stellenbosch, University of Limpopo and University of Venda. Dr Setino is said to be the child of the soil as she hails from Sedan Village and started her primary school from the same school as some of the learners.
Dr Setino started her address by stating that this function is an indication that everyone believes in the learners and thus they must believe in themselves. She stated that success is very hard and thus learners must work harder. The learners were challenged to be the best they can be, and she gave an example that if one is called to be a cleaner, that person need to clean to the best of their ability.
Dr Setino gave an address under the theme: Ten keys to success, which include: networking and mentorship, dreaming big, protecting one’s dream, starting with end in mind, striving for excellence, self-diligence, staying curious and failure being part of the journey to success, among others.
She ended her address by challenging the leaners to study hard and ob tain as many qualifications. She added that she was still studying and belongs to the #2am Club, where she wakes up at 2:00am and study before preparing for work, in addition to her role as a mother, wife, and her various professional roles as stated in her biography. Dr Setino alluded to the fact that she sleeps very few hours as do many successful people. According to Dr. Setino, “vurhongo a byi hakeli”. Her mission was to beat the Professor Pakeng’ #3am Club to ensure that she achieves much for the day. She encouraged the learners to wake up early and study and to push limits in order to achieve great results.
Coincidentally, Ms Mashau thanked Dr Setino and presented her with the “The 5am Club” book by Robin Sharma, which was in line with the theme of the address.
Honours
Mr L. M Rikhotso
The awards were presented by Mr L.M Rikhotso and Ms N. Shikwambana, with the star of the day being Mr Blessing Mashele. The learner received a laptop courtesy of our Sponsor, Dido Communications, an IT firm Head Quartered in Edanvale, cash price to the value of R 3000 and a certificate of achievement courtesy of VIN.
The second and third place went to Mr Rhulani Masinge and Ms Ntiyiso Mathebula respectively. They both received iPads courtesy of our Sponsor Dido Communications and certificates of achievements. In addition, the second awardee received R 2000 while third place received R1000 courtesy of VIN. Teachers who achieved 100% also received awards. Summary of awards are presented in the table below.
Summary of awards presented
OVERALL TOP BEST LEARNERS
| Learner name | Certificate | Cash Price | Gift |
| Mashele Blessing | Certificate of achievement | R 3 000 | Laptop |
| Mr Masinge Rhulani | Certificate of achievement | R 2 000 | iPad |
| Mathebula Ntiyiso | Certificate of achievement | R 1 000 | iPad |
SUBJECT AWARDS
| Learner name | Certificate | Cash Price | Gift |
| Mashele Blessing | Certificate of achievement | R 3 000 | Laptop |
| Mr Masinge Rhulani | Certificate of achievement | R 2 000 | iPad |
| Mathebula Ntiyiso | Certificate of achievement | R 1 000 | iPad |
EDUCATORS WHO ACHIEVED 100% PASS RATE
| Learner name | Subject | Certificate |
| Mashele Blessing | Xitsonga Home Language | Certificate of achievement |
| Mr Masinge Rhulani | Xitsonga Home Language | Certificate of achievement |
| Mathebula Ntiyiso | Xitsonga Home Language | Certificate of achievement |
| Ndzhukula D | English First Additional teacher | Certificate of achievement |
| Muhlarhi J | English First Additional teacher | Certificate of achievement |
| Malungana N | English First Additional teacher | Certificate of achievement |
| Manzini H | Tourism | Certificate of achievement |
| Mnisi T.S | Tourism | Certificate of achievement |
Awarded teachers with Circuit Manager and VIN Treasurer 
Royal house’s remarks
Mrs Bridget Muhlava spoke on behalf of Vukosi bya ka Nkuna. Mrs Muhlava commended the work done by VIN and the support given to VIN by sponsors. She indicated that the time and resources devoted by VIN members in their personal capacity is highly appreciated by the vaNkuna Royal House and the community. She indicated that Hosi Muhlava the first valued education and Christianity and that the work undertaken by VIN is in line with what Hosi Muhlava stood for. She emphasised to the learners the sentiments of the guest speaker that “Ndyondzo a yi lumi” and that she herself has enrolled for her PhD.
Closing Remarks by Circuit Manager
The Circuit Manager Mr T.M. Thobela gave closing remarks. He also commended the work undertaken by VIN. In line with the remarks by Mr Rikhotso with regard to social issues, he recommended that the department will take drastic action against any teacher who engages in sexual relations with learners. He alluded to the disappointing result but indicated that the circuit is committed to improving the result through collaborative efforts with the schools. He concluded by taking the guest speaker on her challenge by committing to mentor one student.
Recess and career choice presentation
The session went to recess, and the leaners were split into three groups. The Grade 12 learners were first addressed by Dr Baloyi talked about his five steps in the journey of success which were linked to Dr Setino’s success factors.
The three groups were addressed by professionals from various organisations which included but not limited to Letaba TVET Collage, Ritluka Mining, Bridgestone and Bombardier Transport South Africa. The speakers covered various careers in sectors such as Mining, Manufacturing, Health Sciences, Economics, Finance and Management, IT and Software Engineering and Technical Skills.
Learners in one of the classes 
Event review and action plan to improve the results
A meeting was held on the 22nd of February 2020 in Midstream to review the combined career day and award ceremony, including to draft an action plan for the year. It was concluded that the event was a success with some lessons to be implemented for future events. The minutes of the meeting is available on request. Important for the purpose of this report is the action plan to improve results which is tabulated below:
From left to right:
- Ms. M. Machimana;
- Mr. Mr. E.R. Msindo;
- Mr. T.T. Rikhotso;
- Mr J.M. Rikhotso;
- S. Shikwambana
- and Mr L.H Rikhotso (on the phone).
Action Plan to improve results
| Required action | Resources by VIN | Responsible person | Due date |
| Allocation of Mentee to mentors | None | Mr L.H Rikhotso Mr S. Shikwambana Mr Nkhwashu Mr A.R. Mushwana and Ms M. Machimana. | 28/02/2020 |
| Support of Professor Shiluvana Secondary School – leadership | None | Mr. J.M. Rikhotso | 30 November 2020 |
| Support of Cata and Sedan secondary Schools with additional teachers | R 10 000 (of R 120000) | Mr. E.R Msindo | 30 May 2020 |
| Saturday school presentation by best teacher for the subjects | R 25 000 (of R65 000) | Mr. E.R Msindo | 30 May 2020 |
| VIN Winter school | R 5000 | Ms M. Machimana | 30 June 2020 |
| Leadership seminar for teachers | None | Mr. J.M. Rikhotso | 30 March 2020 |
| Mentorship seminar for VIN mentors | R 2000 | Mr S. Shikwambana | 30 March 2020 |
| VIN fundraising for 2020/2021 | R 200 000 | All under the leadership of Mr. E.R Msindo | Ongoing |
Financial breakdown on the events
The financial break down of the event is available on request.
For more information
please do contact VIN’s Secretory General or Vice Secretory details on the first page.
Acknowledgments
To all our various stakeholders, organising and implementation teams, the learners and VIN donors, the event was not the end of our relationship, but the beginning of another phase in our continuous relationship founded on improving the quality of learning of our learners and help uplift each other as a community. Thank you for your contributions thus far.
Kind Regards
_______________________
Jacques Rikhotso, VIN Chairperson
