South Africa is unusual across the globe in celebrating ‘Youth Month’ in June and so in this edition of Full Circle I’d like to focus largely on the remarkable work of the Spirit Foundation in the field of education.

Fifty years after the historic and painful events of June 1976, have we really done justice to the ‘Class of ’76’ and can we do more?

South Africa consistently ranks near the bottom in global education tables, particularly in maths, science, and reading assessments. In major evaluations like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, SA learners frequently score well below international averages. International studies like the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study have shown that a large majority of South African Grade four (generally between 9-10 year olds) learners cannot read for comprehension.

Nearly five million of our young are unemployed, with a staggering 61% of 15-24 year olds without work.

So, while the Spirit Foundation cannot bridge these the gaps at the national level, we can and do make a significant difference to the lives of the hundreds of learners we support in our various education programmes.

Now well into its 32^nd year, our secondary school scholarship programme has achieved a wonderful track record of supporting young scholars from disadvantaged backgrounds and underserved communities. For example, in 2025, every Spirit Foundation scholar achieved a bachelors matric pass which bears testament to both their individual commitment and the care and attention each receives on the programme. But our scholarship programme is not just about achieving academic success, perhaps what distinguishes it most is the quality of young person that emerges from it and in particular how they contribute to and give back to society as young adults, including through the Spirit Foundation alumni programme.

In our biggest commitment to date, the Spirit Foundation has taken over the running, funding and development of two Early Childhood Development Centres (Kapteintjies and Bonnie People) in the Breede Valley town of Bonnievale. More than 250 children from the ages of six months to five years attend the centres and while this is a major commitment, it forms part of a bigger programme aimed at supporting young people in Bonnievale from ECD through junior school and secondary school to matric. By so doing, our objective is to fundamentally improve the education, employability and life chances of an entire generation in this underserved area.

While I have focused on the Spirit Foundation education programmes, I am immensely proud too of the growth and impact of our community and wildlife programmes about which you will read much more in this edition of the Full Circle.

If you are inspired by our work and wish to contribute to any of our programmes, please simply visit our website, https://spiritf.org/ as we’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, remember, Just Do Good!