Desnei Leaf-Camp, also a Class Akani fellow, is senior financial adviser at Xina Solar One. This solar power station has a 100 megawatt solar power capacity and they sell the solar energy they generate directly back to ESKOM. Xina Solar One’s efforts to support education in the four rural communities in its immediate vicinity, are truly commendable. The company published their first newsletter in January looking back on 2022 and what has been achieved.
Students and learners in the communities of Pella, Pofadder, Witbank and Onseepkans in the Northern Cape are benefiting greatly from three educational programmes offered by Xina Solar One:
- an internship programme,
- a bursery programme,
- and afterschool care.
The company started their Internship programme in 2018. In acquiring new skills and gaining practical on-site experience, interns have enhanced their employability. To date, 20 local youths have completed the programme, with 8 being permanently employed by the O&M company.
The Xina Solar One Bursary programme started in 2020. The programme offers partial and full bursary support to deserving applicants from Pella, Pofadder, Witbank and Onseepkans. It is being successfully implemented in partnership with Powerful Dreams, a local service provider, that was developed and established as a result of the Bursary Programme.
Their Bursary Programme has benefitted a total of 31 students, of which 15 have successfully completed their qualifications. Several of these students have successfully found employment in the field of teaching (e.g. Early Childhood Development). Currently 16 students are on the Bursary Programme and are pursuing qualifications in the fields of Education, Law, and Engineering.
As part of their effort towards supporting Education in the Northern Cape Xina Solar One is collaborating with several local schools in the region to roll out an Afterschool programme that will advance selected learners. The four schools participating in this initiative are Pella Intermediary School, Francois Visser Primary School in Pofadder, Witbank Primary School and St. Philomena Intermediary School in Onseepkans. The programme is implemented with the assistance of 30 local educators and teaching assistants. These teachers provide extra classes in mathematics and literacy to 284 learners. A nutritious meal is also provided to the learners as well as exposure to cultural activities which cover sports, arts, and crafts. We wish to thank all our implementation partners for their commitment to improving educational outcomes within these communities.
