Tutu honoured as mentor

2009-06-26 14:24

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dr Mvula Yoyo, chair of MultiChoice Fort Hare Inkwenkwezi Trust and trustee of Media24 Rachel’s Angels Trust. (News24, supplied)

Cape Town - Our children are not inferior and should insist on high standards, said former archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu at a function held for him at the Naspers Centre on Thursday.

Media24 Rachel’s Angels and MultiChoice Fort Hare Inkwenkwezi trusts honoured Tutu with an award of recognition for his role as mentor across the globe.

 “Mentors should fill learners with pride! Don’t tolerate low standards,” was Tutu’s main message.

The trusts are mentorship programmes that operate in the Eastern and Western Cape. Mentors - senior university students from Fort Hare and Stellenbosch University - are teamed up with Grade 11 mentees for two years and through the mentorship programme strive for excellence in their academic and social skills.

An integral part of the trusts is to empower and mentor young minds. The best mentor of 2007, Khanyisa Mrubata of the Eastern Cape, is now a trustee of the Inkwenkwezi Trust and the most recent staff member, Lumka Songwiqi, was a security guard at Media24 not so long ago. Today, she is running the administration for the Inkwenkwezi Trust in Cape Town. 

Tutu strongly encouraged pupils and students to learn from each other.

“I’m not an exception – my school had nothing.  I studied for my Matric exam by candlelight.  For goodness sake, let’s tell our children the sky’s the limit.

“It’s not where we come from, but what we become! We must show our children the right way. Let’s not teach them to shout the loudest but to improve their argument.  Quality, ability and qualification should be the criteria for job appointments in South Africa.”

- News24