• Each band consists of 120 youngsters, aged 10 years to
18 years.
• While training in musical instrument playing, movement
and dance form the core of the Foundation’s activities,
band members also receive:
− HIV and Aids peer education;
− General education in social development; and
− Specific life skills training.
• Interaction between children from differing racial, linguistic
and ethnic groups, and cross-regionally, is facilitated
through the holding of national Foundation gatherings and
competitions.
• The Foundation, in collaboration with counterparts
in Norway and the US, runs a scholarship exchange
programme for deserving students.
Anglo American’s dedicated Corporate Social Investment (CSI)
arm, the Chairman’s Fund, is helping to educate and empower
young people in South Africa through its support of holistic youth
arts development programme, Field Band Foundation. The Field
Band Foundation was founded in 1997 and teaches life skills
through the mastering of art forms such as music and dance.
Since 2010, the Chairman’s Fund has supported the Foundation
with over R6 million in grants. In 2013, two grants of R475
000 each were approved towards the operational costs of the
Thabazimbi (Limpopo) and Kuruman (Northern Cape) bands.
Each band supports up to 250 learners from neighbouring
communities.
Retha Cilliers, CEO of the Field Band Foundation, notes that the
Chairman’s Fund support has had a significant impact on the
organisation’s reach.
“The continued support provided by Anglo American has made
it possible for the projects developed by our foundation to
achieve sustained successes, and allows us to positively impact
many communities around the country.
“They have been involved in so many aspects of our programmes
and have not just supported us financially, but have also
provided invaluable operational assistance which shows us that
they really care.”
The organisation’s support model also extends to helping
students gain access to potential jobs, and it consults closely
with the communities it works with and serves around South
Africa, which includes eight provinces and 34 townships.
Chairperson of the Chairman’s Fund, Norman Mbazima,
concludes that Anglo American’s on-going support of the
Field Band Foundation is based on its commitment to youth
empowerment.
“The Chairman’s Fund strives to empower South Africa’s youth
by backing initiatives that create a tangible and sustainable
difference in their development, and this directive has guided
our continued support of the Field Band Foundation. Ultimately,
through the unique training and support model that it offers, this
organisation is helping to nurture the leaders of tomorrow and
developing them to be productive and positive members of the
country.”
The funding also supports an HIV/AIDS programme and life skills
training which is offered to each member in each band. These
costs incorporate sending each student to the foundation’s
academy and each band’s leadership to the National Academy
Workshop.
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