The Bathandwa Ndondo Legacy Project, which he named after his late anti-apartheid activist grandfather, has established other extramural activities in the township schools, such as debating, chess, drama, and book clubs.
“Students Rule started out as a monthly magazine and through the insight we gained from that, it was clear that many schools in rural areas have very limited to no extramural activities,” said the Cala-born Ntsebeza.
“I was fortunate enough to attend [former] Model C schools throughout my schooling career, and I ended up studying in Johannesburg after high school.
“But I always knew I wanted to come back to the Eastern Cape and develop this area.”
This week, Ntsebeza’s U11 and U13 Nompumelelo Primary rugby teams had a training session and friendly match with the Selborne Primary U13 team in Duncan Village.
For the first time in Nompumelelo Primary’s history, both the U11 and U13 rugby teams are in the local primary school rugby league.
They played their first away game in Stutterheim yesterday.
“Buhle came to see me a while ago and made me aware of how great the need is.
“Playing in Duncan Village was an emotional experience for our boys and many of them left with a new sense of appreciation for what they have,” said Selborne Primary’s head of sport, Gareth Syncock.
“Buhle is very dedicated to the development of underprivileged schools and he is a great ambassador. We will definitely be making our way to Nompumelelo Primary again.”
Selborne Primary has donated equipment to Nompumelelo’s rugby teams, including rugby balls, shields and two scrum machines.
“I was so humbled and I am so grateful to Selborne for their generosity.
“It was extremely motivating for my boys to play on ‘home soil’ with kids from a different background.
“I think it is an experience that they will look back on for the rest of their lives,” said Ntsebeza.
Ntsebeza relies on donations to fund the after-school activities and invites experts to host classes and motivational talks, such as local actor Chumani Pan.
“Buhle shares my views about using extramurals as tools to develop our communities and it has been an honour to be involved with this project,” said Pan, who became affiliated with Students Rule last year.
Ntsebeza said his dream was to replicate this project in Cala and to introduce it to other schools around East London.-madeleineC@dispatch.co.za
Broadening the playing field
Dedicated to giving township pupils a better chance at life, East London resident Buhle Ntsebeza has established regular after-school rugby lessons at Kusile Comprehensive and Nompumelelo Primary schools in Duncan Village.
The lessons form part of a co-curricular programme initiated by Ntsebeza’s NGO, Students Rule. The rugby programme, named the Bathandwa Ndondo Legacy Project, aims to introduce and sustain extramural activities at these schools and works to link them to former Model C schools – or better-equipped schools – through a “big brother” system.
The Bathandwa Ndondo Legacy Project, which he named after his late anti-apartheid activist grandfather, has established other extramural activities in the township schools, such as debating, chess, drama, and book clubs.
“Students Rule started out as a monthly magazine and through the insight we gained from that, it was clear that many schools in rural areas have very limited to no extramural activities,” said the Cala-born Ntsebeza.
“I was fortunate enough to attend [former] Model C schools throughout my schooling career, and I ended up studying in Johannesburg after high school.
“But I always knew I wanted to come back to the Eastern Cape and develop this area.”
This week, Ntsebeza’s U11 and U13 Nompumelelo Primary rugby teams had a training session and friendly match with the Selborne Primary U13 team in Duncan Village.
For the first time in Nompumelelo Primary’s history, both the U11 and U13 rugby teams are in the local primary school rugby league.
They played their first away game in Stutterheim yesterday.
“Buhle came to see me a while ago and made me aware of how great the need is.
“Playing in Duncan Village was an emotional experience for our boys and many of them left with a new sense of appreciation for what they have,” said Selborne Primary’s head of sport, Gareth Syncock.
“Buhle is very dedicated to the development of underprivileged schools and he is a great ambassador. We will definitely be making our way to Nompumelelo Primary again.”
Selborne Primary has donated equipment to Nompumelelo’s rugby teams, including rugby balls, shields and two scrum machines.
“I was so humbled and I am so grateful to Selborne for their generosity.
“It was extremely motivating for my boys to play on ‘home soil’ with kids from a different background.
“I think it is an experience that they will look back on for the rest of their lives,” said Ntsebeza.
Ntsebeza relies on donations to fund the after-school activities and invites experts to host classes and motivational talks, such as local actor Chumani Pan.
“Buhle shares my views about using extramurals as tools to develop our communities and it has been an honour to be involved with this project,” said Pan, who became affiliated with Students Rule last year.
Ntsebeza said his dream was to replicate this project in Cala and to introduce it to other schools around East London.-madeleineC@dispatch.co.za
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