NEWS
Yorkshire to South Africa run, walk or cycle challenge will help save lives
Fourteen years ago Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, together with St. Mary’s Menston established the now multi award winning Bambisanani Partnership which uses sport to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership.
Fourteen years ago Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, together with St. Mary’s Menston established the now multi award winning Bambisanani Partnership which uses sport to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership.
The remote rural area of Mnyakanya High School
A few weeks ago Mnyakanya School contacted the Bambisanani Partnership charity with the terrible news that they had no water supply which meant that the school could not reopen safely after the coronavirus lockdown of schools in South Africa as basic hygiene requirements such as hand washing could not be carried out. The Acting Principal of the school Mrs Thulie Mkhize spoke of young people ‘starting to lose hope’ in a school that offers hope above all else in one of the country’s most remote and deprived areas.
The Bambisanani Team whose visit to South Africa in June 2020 has been postponed due to Covid 19.
In order to get running water reinstated at the school students and staff from St. Marys have started a fund raising campaign which involves members of the school community collectively running, walking or cycling the equivalent distance from Menston to Mnyakanya – 8709 miles! Led by teacher Miss Charlotte Wood the initial challenge involved 21 students and staff from the school who are directly involved in the partnerships work in South Africa, including current and former members of staff: Charlotte Wood, Catherine Chattoe, Matt Harvey, Brad Dobson, David Geldart and Year 12 students: Joseph Nicol, Archie Bange, Ellie Woffenden, Gabe Beaumont, Millie Carroll, Theo Humphreys, Joe Newman, Oscar Helliwell, Catherine Westhead, Caitlin Copsey, Kizzy Tremlett, Sabrina Spilker, Aisling Hendron, Dion Barber, Emma Kerrigan and Luca Volpe.
Map showing the 8,709 mile distance between St. Mary's Menston and Mnyakanya High School
Last weekend a 10k run, cycle or walk event was completed by all the team which also saw many more teachers from the school join the challenge including: Mr Hearle, Mrs Hayes, Mrs Rix, Mr Pringle, Mrs Wilson, Miss Chrispin, Mrs Beesting, Miss Anderson, Mrs Thornton, Miss Rogers, Mrs Thomas, Mrs Findlay, Mrs Harrison, Ms Pettifer, Mr Dennett, Mr Steingold, Mrs Hanson, Mr Thornton, Miss Mason and Mrs Doyle.
Collectively, the team have now completed 1665 miles, which on the long road to South Africa takes them to Almeria in Spain. With all team members clocking up the miles on daily basis the destination will hopefully be reached by November which will culminate in many of them competing in the Leeds 10k.
The aim is to raise over £5000 which will not only reinstate clean water to the school but also increase the number of taps and improve plumbing.
““This is a fantastic initiative that will hopefully get Mnyakanya students back into school safely so they can start improving their life chances again. We take washing our hands and having clean water to drink for granted; it is difficult to comprehend life without access to water, particularly in these unprecedented and challenging times. The only guaranteed meal that many of these youngsters get is when they are at school – during the lockdown this has obviously not been happening so it essential to get the school open again as soon as possible. I thank everyone involved in this challenge and indeed those supporting it – you really will make a difference.””
To donate to charity to support this initiative please visit contact Bambisanani Coordinator at St. Mary’s, Mrs Catherine Chattoe: c.chattoe@stmarysmenston.org or use our donate button:
The Bambisanani Partnership 2020 Challenge
Raising money to provide running water at Mnyakanya High School, helping to fight against Covid-19
Raising money to provide running water at Mnyakanya High School, helping to fight against Covid-19
Menston to Mnyakanya
🔵 8709 miles
🔵 168 days
🔵 21 participants
🔵 walk/run/cycle
Finishing with the Leeds 10k, 22nd November 2020
DONATE:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity…
St. Mary's South Africa Visit 2020 update
So today, 3 June 2020, marks the day that the 2020 Bambisanani team would have travelled to South Africa to deliver The Bambisanani Leadership Programme to the students of Mnyakanya High School, volunteer in an orphanage and help teach literacy skills in a deprived primary school.
So today, 3 June 2020, marks the day that the 2020 Bambisanani team would have travelled to South Africa to deliver The Bambisanani Leadership Programme to the students of Mnyakanya High School, volunteer in an orphanage and help teach literacy skills in a primary school.
We are all a little sad that the Covid-19 pandemic has spoilt our plans but we are all staying positive and hoping that we can still carry out our work someday in the future.
Stay safe.
The Bambisanani Team
AmazonSmile: you shop, Amazon donates to the Bambisanani Partnership
AmazonSmile is an exciting initiative that allows you to support your favourite charity every time you buy products on Amazon.
The way it works is you simply login directly to smile.amazon.co.uk where you will find exactly the same shopping experience - the same low prices and selection as amazon.co.uk – and make purchases in the same way you normally would.
The difference is that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price of each eligible purchase to charity. It really is an easy way to have a positive social impact and generate donations to charitable organisations that mean something to you, without it costing you, or the charity you choose to support, a penny.
The Bambisanani Partnership |
Bambisanani Partnership Founder interview with University of Leeds: Sustainability and UN Global Development Goals March 2020 (PDF)
Over the past 14 years, David Geldart (M.Ed Physical Education 1989) has helped to change the lives of students in South Africa and the UK; he has established the Bambisanani Partnership, an educational exchange which uses sport to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership.
Bambisanani Partnership resolute and resilient in the face of Coronavirus
The Bambisanani team hope that you are well and coping with these unprecedented and difficult times.
The Bambisanani team hope that you are well and coping with these unprecedented and difficult times.
You will not be surprised to hear that the Coronavirus pandemic has led to the postponement of this year’s visits to South Africa planned by St. Mary’s School, The University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University. My heart goes out to all the students and staff who have worked so hard and for so long preparing for the visits. Despite the disappointment the reaction of our teams in Leeds and in South Africa has been characteristically positive and determined with thoughts already turning to visits next year and an expansion of our volunteer programmes. The commitment, dedication, passion and resilience of our team never ceases to amaze and inspire me.
The Bambisanani Partnership will be ready when the world gets through this crisis; and get through it we will.
It is both ironic and perverse to think that there may be ‘positives’ that come from the current Coronavirus pandemic but I have been heartened and inspired by the outpouring of humanity in these most devastating and challenging of times. All our lives are currently very different to what they have been and I believe that because of this there is the very real potential for people around the world to ‘press the reset button’ in terms of purpose, values and what is really important in the world and in our lives. For many of us our priorities in the future will be different.
Every day we make choices about how we live our lives; what we consume and how we treat others. Every day presents us with a myriad of opportunities to make a real difference and a chance to live more authentic and meaningful lives – this is precisely why the Bambisanani Partnership will go from strength to strength with your help and support.
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently. And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
Stay safe and stay well,
David Geldart
Founder and Chairman of The Bambisanani Partnership
Please wish Mr Harvey and our Year 12 students good luck as they will be running in the Bradford 10k on Sunday.
The team have volunteered to run the race as a way of fundraising for The Bambisanani Partnership.
The team have volunteered to run the race as a way of fundraising for The Bambisanani Partnership.
St. Mary's students and Mr Harvey
If you wish to sponsor the runners please contact Mrs Chattoe at St. Mary’s Menston school: c.chattoe@stmarysmenston.org
The students are:
Theo Humphreys
Joseph Nicol
Archie Bange
Millie Carroll
Gabriel Beaumont
Joseph Newman
Catherine Westhead.
Good luck to every Bambisanani runner!
National Recognition for St. Mary’s School and Bambisanani Partnership
St. Mary’s Menston and the Bambisanani Partnership have been recognised at The Youth Sport Trust 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner held at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry.
St. Mary’s Menston and the Bambisanani Partnership have been recognised at The Youth Sport Trust 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner held at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry.
At the prestigious event the school and partnership gained a commendation in the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Community Award’. Catherine Chattoe, Bambisanani Coordinator at St. Mary’s and Barbara Pounder, Trustee of the Bambisanani Partnership charity attended the event of behalf of the school and partnership.
St. Mary’s started the partnership back in 2006 with Mnyakanya High School which is based in one of South Africa’s most deprived rural areas. The partnership, which uses sport as a catalyst to promote education, health, global citizenship and leadership, has gained both national and international acclaim for it ground breaking work.
The independent nomination for the award said:
“Not only has the partnership between the two schools grown, but St. Mary’s has reached out to its community of schools in Leeds, involving students and staff from the School Sport Partnership and two local universities – Leeds Trinity University and the University of Leeds – while Mnyakanya involves children and young people from multiple schools across the region. The partnership’s work is now vast and constantly developing. It includes sports leadership, sports festivals, cycling initiatives and sports coaching but it has also used sport as a catalyst for so much more: literacy and numeracy projects, curriculum development, support for orphans, further education support and promoting employability. The impact on everyone involved – adults and young people – is immeasurable but includes improved health and wellbeing, educational achievement and exemplary citizenship. Above all, St. Mary’s has demonstrated the power of sport to build communities – locally and globally – in which young people, whatever their background, can contribute and thrive.”
Over the past fourteen years over 10,000 UK and South African students have participated in Bambisanani activities, over 280 students from the UK have travelled to South Africa as volunteers to deliver the various Bambisanani programmes, over 775 South African students have gained the Bambisanani Leadership Award and over 2,750 South African students have taken part in Bambisanani Sports Festivals.
““I am extremely proud of the work of St. Mary’s and The Bambisanani Partnership. The teams involved have worked incredibly hard over the last fourteen years and enabled such a transformation in our local community and globally. The impact has been immense. They are thoroughly deserving of this national recognition.””
““This really is a fantastic achievement and thanks must go to our small army of volunteers and supporters who make all these things happen. It was fitting that Catherine and Barbara represented us at the prestigious event; their contribution to this valuable work over the years has simply been immense. We have worked closely with the Youth Trust and without their initial input, as part of the ‘Dreams and Teams’ programme, this work would not even have begun. It was therefore a great honour indeed to be included the very special 25th Anniversary Awards. St. Mary’s deserves the highest praise for being prepared to put its values into action.”
”
Bambisanani Quiz Night Announcement
The Bambisanani quiz that was due to take place this Friday has been postponed.
UPDATE March 16 2020: Good morning everyone,
The Bambisanani quiz that was due to take place this Friday has been postponed.
You can collect a full refund from any of the Bambi team or your ticket can be used for the rearranged quiz.
If at any stage you cannot make the new date then please collect a full refund.
Thank you
Cath Chattoe
Friday 20 March 2020. At Guiseley Football Club. Tickets £8 per person in teams of 8
Tickets available from Mrs Chattoe or Miss Wood at St. Mary's Menston.
This is a ticket only event.
All proceeds to The Bambisanani Partnership
c.chattoe@stmarysmenston.org
Bambisanani Quiz Night!
— The Bambisanani Partnership (@BambisananiPart) March 6, 2020
Friday 20 March 2020 @GuiseleyAFC 7–9pm
All proceed to The Bambisanani Partnership pic.twitter.com/b6OIttKmqX
Read our Sawubona 2019 South Africa Visit Report
The report has been published today.
The report has been published today
