press-office

June 16 Soup Kitchen

Wed, 11 May 2011 14:33:10 +0100

BBEAG will be hosting a FREE soup kitchen on Youth Day, 16 June 2011, in Lethlabile, Bela-Bela.

Members of the public would be given a free soup and a roll on the day as part of the celebration of the historic day.

The soup kitchen is mooted to start from 06.00 to 08.00 of the same day.

For any queries and to partner/sponsor the event contact Tshepo Matjila on 076 5611 619.

****Issued without alteration***

Bela-Bela students shoots the light out of underachievement!

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:38:15 +0100

********OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE********

Dear Friends,

BBEAG is proud to announce to one and all that the Grade 12s learners from the four (4) schools we (BBEAG) worked with last year have done us all proud in the 2010 matric results. All but one of the schools declined from previous year's highs.

The results, as received from the principals, are as follows:

1. Maope High School: 2009 = 34% ; 2010 = 66.8%

2. Raeleng Middle School: 2009 = 0% ; 2010 = 4%

3. Vingerkraal High School: 2009 = 20% ; 2010 = 34%

4. Bela-Bela High School: 2009 = 50% ; 2010 = 46%

These results represents a whopping 11.7% overall increase to 37.7% from last years 26%. Naturally as BBEAG we are extremely excited about the new improvements and we are very encouraged to work even harder in 2011.

Vision 2015 remains our target

As BBEAG we have set ourself the audacious task to help these four schools to raise their overall results to 75% by 2015. We are not scared. We are not going to quit.

We gained immense understanding of the politics, the mechanics and the formulas that work for these schools and we will be focusing on improving on these in the ensuing years.

Thank You's

BBEAG would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who partnered with us in 2010. BBEAG would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who wished us well in 2010. BBEAG would like to take this opportunity to also thank all of you who gave supplications, prayers and intercessions on our behalf in 2010.

We hope to continue enjoying your support and partnership in 2011 as we turn the negatives of public schools into positives for our communities and hopefully for the country.

May the fruits of education continue to be the motivation for us all in 2011.

Kind Regards,

Tshepo Matjila

Programme Coordinator

Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group (BBEAG)

076 5611 619

BBEAG hosts its inaugural Annual General Conference: 26-28 Nov 2010

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:40:20 +0100

BBEAG would like to notify all its stakeholders and interested parties that we will be hosting our maiden Annual General Conference (AGC) next week from Friday, 26 November 2010, up to Sunday, 28 November 2010.

The theme for this conference is VISION. ACTION. LEGACY!

The following agenda will be deliberated:

1. Review the 2010 year from a BBEAG impact point
2. Plan the Year End function for the group
3. Review the Bursary allocation criteria for 2011
4. Plan for the BBEAG 2011 Calendar year of programs
5. Elect/Retain the leadership of the org
6. Review the organogram & its efficacy
7.Any other business

Should you desire to join in at this auspicious event, please contact Tshepo on 0765611619 to book and for more info.

Thank you| BBEAG

BBEAG HAS EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT BELA-BELA MATRICULANTS WILL DO WELL

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:35:22 +0100

Intervention measures introduced this year to receive their ultimate test

25 Oct. 10 - This is a very interesting week for the group (BBEAG) and for South Africa, chief among them is that today, 25^th October 2010,marks the official beginning of the Final Matric Exams for all Grade 12s.

The matric examination process is one testing process that will let us gauge how far we have come, as BBEAG, with our interventions this year.

Did our Education Summit in March help any of the students or their parents to re-look their stance on education?
What about the Easter Vacation schools we ran in April, hosting over 180 students at one point? Will students remember the lessons we shared with them?

Did the Motivational Sessions we conducted in July with the learners have any impact, if at all?
Did all our topics, motivational quotes and advises on the BBEAG Facebook page add anything to the students’ mind, their development and their motivation?
What about the various press releases we sent to Limpopo Beat on our events, action plans and fundraisers - will it inspire an essay or three from the students?
What about the youth prayer meetings we attended where we shared our wisdom with young people? Will it make them realize the importance of prayer and preparedness in this final hour?

All the above are some of things we have done in 2010 to help the education problem in Bela-Bela.

The most important questions remaining are thus:

Will we finally eliminate the 0% of Raeleng Middle School this year?
What about the quality of the passes at the other schools? Will the quality show?
Will BBEAG’s efforts as an advocacy group show in the final results of the students?

BBEAG will be praying for ALL the young people who will be sitting for the final examinations from today henceforth for the spirit of God to help them keep their nerves so that they can do well.

BBEAG has sweat blood and put itself out there to help education in Bela-Bela and we will continue to do so without fail. The Grade 12 examination is officially going to be the first litmus test as to the efficacy of our methods and might inform our future programs and strategies as an advocacy group beyond 2010.

BBEAG would like to wish the class of 2010 well in their exams. We are confident that with the support from parents, educators and the entire community, the 2010 matriculants will make us proud.

It is heart-warming to see the resilience displayed by the learners and how they have taken ownership of their studies. Continue to work hard and smart when you write your exams. Good luck and make us proud.

Best Regards| Tshepo Matjila

Programme Coordinator| BBEAG

www.belabela.yolasite.com

BBEAG GOES FURTHER TO RAISE BURSARY FUNDS

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:32:45 +0100

New 014’s Finest t-shirt line an instant hit with patrons.

13 Sep. 10 – BBEAG has taken their fundraising efforts a notch higher with the release of their limited edition branded t-shirts. The limited merchandise aptly titled “014’s Finest” (see cartoon below), celebrates all that is good about Bela-Bela and its people.014 is the telephone dialling code for the greater Bela-Bela area and since BBEAG’s area of focus are all areas under the Bela-Bela Municipality – the organisation saw it fit to design something that celebrate this heritage.

It took no less than two months of strategising, consultation and an enabling partnership with Ageless Sun (PTY) LTD to produce the high calibre t-shirts that BBEAG has created. A resident cartoonist from Ageless Sun (PTY) LTD was tasked to sketch a cartoon that typifies the average youth of Bela-Bela: ambitious, purposeful and with a fresh sense of dressing. That is why 014’s Finest was born. September is national heritage month in South Africa and anyone from Bela-Bela who purchases these priceless t-shirt will be buying a piece of Bela-Bela Heritage.

Stock is available and can be ordered from Tshepo Matjila by calling 076 5611 619. These priceless t-shirts are available in either black or white at a rock-bottom price of R150. All proceeds of the sale go towards the BBEAG Bursary Fund. Stock is running out fast, purchase your t-shirt today!

BBEAG Inaugural FUN RUN/WALK

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:17:02 +0100

First of its kind concept

The Bela-Bela Education Advocacy is once again excited to announce that it will be hosting another exciting event this weekend, 5 June 2010, in Bela-Bela: The BBEAG 5km/10km FUN RUN/WALK.

This exciting first of its kind fundraising concept will be another vehicle for which the advocacy group, BBEAG, aims to raise funds for its bursary scheme for deserving matriculants in the Bela-Bela area. The advocacy group has set a target to raise at least R150 000 by the end of the 2010 academic year to enable at least ten (10) deserving matriculants to further their studies at tertiary institutions of their choice.

Zero percent pass rate school

Local, regional and national media are therefore invited to witness the birth of this breakthrough in a town which in the 2009 Matric Results produced one of the schools with lowest marks in the country, Raeleng Middle School, with a zero percent pass rate.

Details of the race

Date: Saturday, 05 June 2010

Time: 06:00 registration and 06:30 Start

Starting Point: behind the Bela-Bela Municipality

Race Distance: 5km Fun & Walk and 10km Fun Run

Entry Fee: R10 for under 18, students and pensioners

R40 for the employed

R200 for corporates (max of 6 per amount)

Prize: Lots of prizes to be won by the runners, plus a raffle prize at 11:00 to be won by members of the public.

For more details please contact Tshepo Matjila on 076 5611 619 or Jim Lebese on 073 724 1420 for media clearance, advertising and/or sponsorships or donations to the cause.

Thanking you in advance,

Tshepo Matjila Jim Lebese

BBEAG Programme Coordinator | 076 5611 619 BBEAG Project Manager | 073 724 1420

BBEAG 5 or 10km FUN RUN

Mon, 17 May 2010 10:35:31 +0100

Date: Saturday, 5th June 2010
Venue: behind Main Bela-Bela Municipality Building
Time: 6.30 for 7.00AM
Registration fee(s):
• R40 per person (adults, athletics clubs)
• R10 per person (Under 18 year olds, unemployed, pensioners)
• R200 Corporate members

The purpose of this Fun Run is threefold:

1. To raise bursary funds for the three + one public schools in Bela-Bela for 2011

2. To raise awareness of a healthy living for all

3. To promote awareness around the works and mission of the BBEAG

Prizes will be given to the winners; also a special draw will be held at the venue at 11:00 AM.

Cars will be washed for a small fee.
Food and drinks will be sold.

For more information contact Jim Lebese on 073 724 1420 or Ledile Sekele on 076 900 9908.

Come and join us as we have fun and run in the name of education.

Help us change lives, donate to a good cause

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:03:59 +0100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pretoria, 19 April 2010

Gentle Readers,

Dear friends,

Corporates,

Educators,

And all philanthropists,

Greetings,

The Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group (BBEAG), the premier education advocacy group in Bela-Bela, is pressing ahead with its agenda to transform the quality and output of Grade 12 matric results in our local schools by using various stimuli to tip the abysmal state of our education into world class standard.

To this end we will be using one of our priority intervention methods i.e., Merit Awards, to motivate learners to endeavour to achieve in their final matric results and hence change their lives forever.

BBEAG, as a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, has no other means of generating income to support its various intervention measures and relies heavily on the generosity of its friends, members and limited revenue from its branded merchandise. BBEAG, therefore, would like to appeal to all patrons of Education, philanthropists and generous benefactors to assist in stemming the tide of underachievement by way of donations and pledges. Funds obtained will enable BBEAG to run the merit awards successfully.

BBEAG will be needing assistance with the following activities:

Ø Event Management

Ø Event Planning

Ø Owning a print business

Ø Branding

Ø Media & Mass Communication

Ø T-shirt & Merchandising

And many more.

For those who would like to offer free services contact me Tshepo Matjila or the BBEAG Project Manager Mogami Lebese on +27 73 724 1420 to discuss the way forward.. All sponsors and pledgers will be acknowledged and sponsor packages & reports sent after the event.

We intend to host the Merit Awards Gala Dinner for the three local Grade 12 schools after the September trial examinations and we need as much resources as possible.. We would therefore like to appeal to all the South Africans and the international community at large to kindly support us in this initiative.

BBEAG is a firm believer in the transformational properties of education and we strongly believe that if we are to change the landscape of the country's future forever; education has to be a joint responsibility! Everyone has to simply to get involved.

Those who are not familiar with our work are requested to please visit us on our website or they can join us on our Facebook homepage (Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group) for all the details and the events we've hosted so far; including the first ever Bela-Bela Education Summit that was held in the month of March as well as the largest tutoring programme ever to be held in Bela-Bela during the Easter Vacation School recess of 2010.

Our approach is centred on exclusive inclusivity. This means that BBEAG would collaborate with all progressive societies and organisations that are pro-education, but will preserve its independence in its approach and mandate to the education question in our town. Of course, this is not in any way a total halt of influence but more a resolve to remain untainted in our thinking and our need for total independence from external factors including but not limited to politics, agendas and untested vendettas.

Your contributions, however small, will go a long way in enabling us to further touch the lives of these young people. By helping educating them for a globalized world, we will be effectively shutting the door on crime, poverty and racism for good!

We do agree with this truism by Victor Hugo: 'He who opens a school door, closes a prison.' It is true not because we will be opening new schools, but because we will be opening up the learning opportunities available through education at school(s).

“Change a life through education and feel good about it!”

Thanking you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

Regards,

Tshepo Matjila

BBEAG Programme Coordinator

076 5611 619

BELA-BELA YOUTH tackles the education underachievement bull

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:43:49 +0100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BELA-BELA, 17 Mar. 10- After one of the four Bela-Bela public schools received a zero percent matriculation pass rate in 2009, the youth of Bela-Bela decided ‘enough is enough’ – something had to be done. As 2010 dawned, a group of young people from the sunshine town calling themselves the Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group (BBEAG) was formed. BBEAG’s main objectives are 1) to stop the deterioration of the education standards and 2) to improve Bela-Bela public schools’ matriculation results using various intervention measures.

A little over the town, a former model C school performed exceptionally well with matriculation passes tipping over 80% with a majority of their learners being accepted into major tertiary institutions and colleges of further education and training (FETs). Just as Basic Education Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekgoa has said, ‘there is nothing wrong with the education of the White child, but everything wrong with the education of the African child’. The BBEAG takes this truism as a challenge and would publicly like to accept the challenge to prove to all and sundry, that the youth of this country are not apathetic to positive activism, education activism included. BBEAG is planning to actively combat this malady and appeal on anyone with the right mentality and motivation to join the BBEAG.

BBEAG is taking a first step in this challenge and as a result we would be convening the first youth-driven, apolitical education summit in our town next Saturday, 27^th March 2010, at the Bela-Bela Showground. This maiden annual education summit would draw people from various walks of life in and around Bela-Bela to ‘brainstorm’ and chart a way forward for public education. Among key luminaries at the summit would be the mayoress of Bela-Bela, Councillor H.M Ledwaba, who is the keynote speaker of the event. School teachers, principals, school governing bodies, learner’s leadership, the local South African Police Services, the department of education, the local business fraternity and parents of learners have also been invited to help craft a collective future for public education in Bela-Bela. Deliberation sessions would be held and an action plan would be adopted at the summit to guide BBEAG and its stakeholders.

According to Tshepo Matjila, the Programme Coordinator for BBEAG, ‘BBEAG is a non-government organisation, apolitical, a-religious and anti-protest, but a pro-education formation that seeks to collaborate with all interested stakeholders in and around Bela-Bela, to help and improve the deteriorating standards of public education. ‘

Regarding the summit Tshepo says ‘with the annual education summit we hope to convince everyone and anyone that education is a communal responsibility; therefore everyone from the gogo who is left to tend to her grandchildren to the businessman, should step up to help stem the tide of underachievement before it devours the fabric of our community. We will not abdicate our responsibility anymore.’ Registration will begin at 09:30 and refreshments will be served.

For more information or if you would like to attend this historic event please contact Tshepo Matjila on 076 5611 619 or Jim Lebese on 073 724 1420.

ABOUT BBEAG

The Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group is a non-government organisation which is formed by young people from Bela-Bela in response to the education situation in their town. BBEAG’s main aim is to help the learners prepare for examinations and to motivate them for success.

BBEAG plans to start a comprehensive tutoring programme in Bela-Bela that would make revision classes free and accessible for matriculants, with a plan to gradually roll out to other grades. Various other intervention measures including merit awards for teachers and learners, bursary schemes and vacation school programmes would be introduced regularly on an ongoing basis.

For more information, please visit our website at www.belabela.yolasite.com
CONTACT INFORMATION

Organisation      :               Bela-Bela Education Advocacy Group (BBEAG)

Media Contact :               Tshepo Matjila

Mobile Number:              +27 (0) 76 5611 619

Availability          :               08:00 – 18:00

Email address    :               kulkat2007@gmail.com

Website               :               www.belabela.yolasite.com