Africa Unite’s School Club Ministers get to Shadow Provincial Minister Mr. Albert Fritz During the Month of April

The month of April was an exciting month for some of Africa Unite’s school club ministers!

Here in Cape Town, Africa Unite runs 5 school clubs in the Cape Flats area. Each school club is modeled after a country, where learners run their own “parliament”, complete with an elected president, 5 ministers ( a Minister of Information and Public Relations, a Minister of Sports Culture and Entertainment, a Minister of Finance, a Minister of Environment, and a Minister of Social Development), as well as thirty to fifty parliamentarians. The school cubs give young learners a platform to learn new skills, share their experiences, learn to fundraise, spark volunteerism, gain confidence, and let their voices be heard amongst their peers.

Ms. Kelebogile Tsimatsima with the Provincial Minister of Social Development Mr. Albert Fritz (left) and Mayor Marius Koen of Saldanha Bay Municipality (right)

Africa Unite arranged for 5 of their learner ministers to shadow actual provincial Minister of Social Development for the Western Cape, Mr. Albert Fritz, for an invaluable learning experience. On April 3^rd, Kelebogile Tsimatsima from Masibambane High School accompanied the Minister to Saldanha for a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) signing.  On April 4^th Nabeelah Tonta from Heideveld High School accompanied Mr. Fritz to a UWC Substance Abuse Graduation. On April 11^th, Nicole Buckton from Simunye High School went with the Minister to visit Ward 25, and attended a Warrior Women Brunch Workshop. Finally, on the 12^th of April, Ntswaki Bomuana from Dr. Nelson Mandela High School shadowed Mr. Fritz in Kraaifontein, where he handed out awards to social development workers at the DSD Long Service Awards day.

Ms. Nableeha Tonta and the Minister of Social Development

All of the learners who shadowed Mr. Fritz wrote a short paper about what they learned and how the experience helped them to be better leaders of their school clubs. They will take what they observed and learned back to the clubs and present this information to their fellow parliamentarians . Ntswaki Bomuana said of her experience, “It was like a dream.. meeting with the Minister of Social Development was so amazing and exciting. I didn’t expect Mr. Fritz to give me all of his attention because I knew that people like him are very busy, and so I was very much surprised when he listened to every word I said and answered every question I asked. I learnt a lot of from him, I learnt that a person who reads never gets old and that if we study hard than there are no mountains too tall, no ocean too deep and no storms too strong for us to achieve what we have aimed for and that motivated me a lot.”

Ms. Ntswaki Bomuana and Minster Fritz at the DSD Long Service Awards

A special thanks to the Western Cape government and Minister of Social Development Mr. Albert Fritz for sharing your time and imparting your knowledge on the next generation’s leaders.