Hard work paid off in the form of a European cultural exchange holiday for eight Kraaifontein pupils from the Learning for Life (L4L) programme, in Brackenfell.
Jessica Fabrik, Nonkululeko Hadebe, Ernesto Coenraad, Jayden Thompson, Bevan Blankenberg, Jason Esau, Tiffany Pekeur and Bertram Ahrendse, visited Germersheim, Germany, from Saturday June 24 to Friday July 7, where local families hosted them.
The trip included a visit to a local high school, a guided city tour of Heidelberg, climbing park adventures, shopping in Frankfurt and a day visit to Strasbourg in France.
L4L is the educational project of The Umtshayelo Foundation (TUF), founded by Andrew Lamour in 2013. TUF’s head office is in Brackenfell and offers support to the communities of Northpine, Bernardino Heights, Scottsville, Scottsdene and Kraaifontein.
L4L is aimed at high school pupils, and the facilities at the TUF centre offer a safe place for pupils to do their homework, complete assignments and do research (“TUF helps pupils improve school marks”, Northern News, March 15).
L4L co-ordinator Lorraine Wagner said the pupils came from different schools and had all worked hard to qualify for the exchange.
“Sheer hard work and a steadfast determination to take part in this landmark opportunity paid off in the end,” Ms Wagner said.
So why Germany? Ms Wagner explained: “During 2014, Manfred and Sharon Hatzenbuehler were part of the cooking team for the senior citizens at the TUF Centre. Manfred, an ex-police officer in Germersheim promoted the good work amongst his former colleagues and this led to enquiries from students in the area to come visit Cape Town. TUF has since hosted three students with several enquiries received from others.
“This then seemed the most logical and appropriate destination for their first international exchange.”
