Rector’s eNews – 28 April 2021
/ Rector's eNewsAt our Assembly on Monday, Kamohelo Rathepe and Nsika Nxumalo, two of our B Block historians, spoke powerfully about Freedom Day which was celebrated across the nation yesterday. Their PowerPoint presentation was interesting and informative and I have included below some of the visual stimuli they used when addressing the school; these are essentially self-explanatory and relate to the inception of the day in 1994 and the impact of it for so many people throughout South Africa. Congratulations and thank you to both boys.
There is a very real sense that the boys are enjoying their return to the winter sports season, even though it may be frustrating for parents not to be able directly to watch their sons in action. It has been necessary to agree with other Heads of schools against whom we play on a set of ground rules. You will see this attached as a Memorandum of Understanding (approved on 26 April 2021). In essence, it sets out to focus on the fact that the participation and competition amongst the boys is “the prize”. To achieve this and to limit the prospect of boys or teams or schools having to self-isolate and to lose much of the winter season, there are basic protocols which are considered necessary to enact. Please find this Memorandum of Understanding attached as Appendix I. In relation to streaming or videoing of matches, we are largely dependent upon the host school to give effect to this and to share their material with our parents. Michaelhouse is currently considering three options in this regard, but our first home match is not until the day before half–term, so we will communicate further with you once a decision has been made. In the meantime, on a weekly basis we will send out the arrangements for videoing/streaming from our Sports Department; Ryan Strudwick, our Director of Sport, can be contacted on email RyanS@www.michaelhouse.org and 033 234 1262.
Last Friday, Michaelhouse was delighted to bestow on one of our most illustrious Old Boys, Dr Adi
Enthoven, the St Michael Award. Adi Enthoven, an Oxford graduate, played a significant role in politics in the 1980s, notably in preparatory meetings for the breakthrough Dakar conference with the ANC in 1987. He subsequently entered the family business which owns insurance operations world-wide and the Nando’s restaurant chain. The Enthoven group currently employs around 40 000 people and operates mainly in the UK, Australia and South Africa. The group has always been socially conscious. Each business strives to make a social impact through partnerships or as an integral part of the business. For example, Nando’s supports 1200 small scale farmers growing chillies and showcases 22 000 works of art by developing South African artists in its restaurants. Spier Wine Farms practises ecological farming techniques, zero waste policies and raises the living and working conditions of their workers and those in their supply chain. And Beyond, the company which operates luxury safari lodges in Africa and South America, uses the economics of tourism to support local communities and to protect the biodiversity of 12 million acres of pristine wilderness.
Under Adi’s leadership, over the past 10 years there has been an emphasis on youth employment: the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator has assisted 750 000 young work-seekers and placed 170 000 young people into jobs or work experience assignments. Similarly, a focus on Early Childhood Development has impacted upon 1million four and five year old children, whilst over 1million toolkits have been delivered to support teachers and school staff in over 7000 schools around the country, mainly in Kwa Zulu-Natal. There has also been a focus on an initiative to improve the daily feeding of 4.5million learners throughout the country. These figures are indicative of his huge impact nationally.
Perhaps the role for which Adi is best known is his work as Vice-Chairman of the Solidarity Fund. This fund was set up to assist with the fight against Covid by providing an effective and rapid response to the crisis, entirely independently of the Government. It has quickly been built into a huge operation which, at its peak, had over 200 professionals in 15 companies working entirely pro bono.