Report from Clr. Yunus Chamda, Speaker of the House, Emfuleni Local Municipality, on the Teachers Without Borders Maths-Science Project 2002

We now have the accumulated experience of two successive projects (2001and 2002). It is therefore with greater confidence that we can reflect on the tremendous impact that this project is having at improving the standards of teaching and learning in the subjects of Maths and Science in the Vaal area. The 2002 Programme under the auspices of Teachers Without Borders, showed a marked improvement this year in the following areas:

1. The inclusion of Science into the Programme enhances the project greatly since the both Maths and Science remains at the centre of technological progress. This coupling is well received by industry and corporations active in the field of science and technology.
2. The experiences of the 2001 Project were well communicated to the 2002 team who were well prepared to “hit the ground running” with very little lag time in acclimatising to local conditions (in a professional sense that is)
3. The substantial learning materials that were brought over from the USA added to the actual content that the Educators could take back into their classrooms.

Areas that could be greatly improved in the Vaal component of the Project in future are:

1. The Local Education Department taking over as the Central role players in any future projects with Local government and other role-players operating in a support role.
2. Individual arrangements with each delegate for travel cost to ensure better attendance and less dependence on the unreliable public transport that exists in the area. A target of 100 delegates is desirable, while 120 is possible but perhaps optimistic. The two districts have a total of 83 Secondary Schools in the area.
3. Elevating the project to greater heights by securing funding for all the associated costs and decreasing the dependency on the goodwill of personal relations. This will ensure that the project will not be dependant on individuals in the future, but could function under the guidance of any Director appointed to do the project.

It has been a pleasure to be involved in this project and to experience its trials and tribulations. The exchanges that I witnessed in the classrooms, and the passion for education generated in the process, makes this a project worth sustaining. It is my hope that we will continue to have this project in the future.

I also had a pleasure of attending the opening ceremony in Port Shepstone and must compliment the efforts of the team that has carried the project in that location.

My sincere thanks to all who have contributed to the success of 2002. The team from the US (Mike Vogel, Mike Hu, Will Best and John Proud) were superb. What dedication and commitment. May they be blessed and rewarded for what they have done for us here in South Africa. The sponsors must know that they have touched the lives of thousands of young South African youth.

Yunus Peer is a man in a billion. Driven by a family tradition of upliftment, he has created something very special.

I had the pleasure of incidentally running into one of our 2002 delegates at a shopping mall the other day. From a distance I could see her face beaming with a broad smile as she recognised me and approached me to say “Hi”. It was not an expression of joy about a social encounter, it simply said that life was much better in the classroom. The short exchange thereafter confirmed all of this. This is why Yunus Peer does what he does.

On behalf of my Municipality…May Peace be upon each and every one of you.

Clr. Y. Chamda
Speaker of the House
Emfuleni- Vaal
Gauteng