Blessed Gérard's
Bursary Fund

Mandeni, kwaZulu/Natal, Republic of South Africa

1993-2013

Education is a key to a good future of every society, but many people cannot afford its costs.
Blessed Gérard's Bursary Fund enables needy people to attain a proper education.

A society's development and standards depends on the average knowledge of the population, therefore the Bursary Fund is a particularly important project. The state neither has the resources to grant free education nor free provision of schoolbooks and equipment, which is the case in many developed countries. This means that schools, colleges and universities demand extremely high fees, which, the biggest part of the population cannot afford. Compare the average monthly salary (the minimum wage is R850 per month) with the cost of one year of study at university, which is approximately R17,000 - for the typical African extended family this is a fortune which they can only dream of.

For this reason the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard has set up a Bursary Fund to make further education possible for gifted people and for those who are willing to learn, moreover to take over the costs for ordinary schools, boarding schools and books etc.

Those who are assisted, get the chance to progress to higher positions as soon as they have learned to accept responsibility and to understand that they should  contribute to their own society's development. Over and above this it will enable them to pay for their own children's education, which may raise the society's entire level in the long term. This leads to an alignment of the social classes and - as an ideal result - to a decrease of the crime rate in South Africa.

If the scholarship holders are indeed successful, they may, as soon as they can, repay all or part of the money,  to make it easier for the Brotherhood to provide more scholarships.

Usually the youngsters or their parents approach the Brotherhood, and after thorough investigation, the management committee decides which of the applicants are the most needy and likely to succeed in their quest to learn. Subsequently the fees are sent directly to the relevant school or university, to ensure that the money will not be misused.

 
Fredrick Peter Dunn graduated as chemical engineer in 2000.

Zandile Thobile Mkhwamubi and Nomusa Magnificent Nxumalo graduated as enrolled nurses on 13 October 2006

Due to financial constraints we can only grant a limited number of bursaries.

They are preferably given to applicants:

• who are gifted (good school reports)
• who live in the Mandeni area (Mandini, Sundumbili, Isithebe, Tugela, Mangete),
• who can produce proof that they have unsuccessfully applied to other bursaries (for the same period of education) and
• who come from disadvantaged circumstances (e.g. poverty, orphans, victims of abuse) and
• who want to prepare for working in a helping profession (e.g. doctor, nurse, social worker, teacher etc.).

If you think, that you may qualify
Click here for a bursary application form

Reports about Blessed Gérard's Bursary Fund in:

• A piece of Africa no tourist ever sees (by Diane von Wrede)
• A piece of South Africa no tourist ever sees (text of a video film)
• Our newsletters:
  • No. 1 (May 1993)
  • No. 11 (Christmas 1996)
  • No. 14 (Easter 1988)
  • No. 17 (Easter 1999)
  • Blessed Gérard's Bursary Fund - 2001

A project of

Blessed Gérard's Care Centre
established by the
Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard

How YOU can help us to help
Contact details

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This page was last updated on Thursday, 17 January 2013 18:27:36