Brakpan-based Sci-Com Foundation, which runs Saturday school and school holiday programmes to help Grade 10 to 12 learners improve their academic performance, celebrated a milestone on March 26, marking its 15-year partnership with Sun International and Carnival City.

The foundation’s goal is to equip learners with a robust early understanding of mathematics and natural sciences.

Over the years, it has helped thousands of learners achieve university education, transforming lives through extra lessons and support.

The initiative aims to provide strategic positions and role models for underprivileged youth. Sci-Com is hosted at Brakpan High School, with principal Lucky Nkopane serving as its director.

The celebratory event took place in the Rio Rooms at Carnival City and was attended by learners and staff from various schools, officials from the Department of Education, as well as employees from Carnival City and Sun International, and other invited guests.

Schools in attendance were Brakpan High School, Geluksdal Secondary School, Modder East High School in Springs and Mpilisweni Secondary School in Katlehong.

Learners from Modder East and Mpilisweni will soon be reaping the benefits of the foundation’s offerings.
Nkopane expressed delight that the programme is spreading to other areas of Gauteng and reaching more learners.

There were several speakers on the day, including Heidi Edson, Sun International’s Group SED specialist, who emphasised the importance of discipline, focus and resilience in the learners’ journey.

“This is a very important moment in your life and our life. I’m assuming there’s Grade 11s and 12s in the room, and this is not only another year, but it’s a bridge between what you have been, who you have been, and who you are about to become,” she said.

“It’s not where you come from, and that’s the journey that Sci-Com, Carnival City and Sun International has ensured that you get there, but it’s where you are going.

“We want to see you succeed so that you can be sitting in these chairs and take over from us. It’s the legacy. This is the future. You are the future.

“I think there’s one important thing that I want to say, this year will test you. It will demand discipline, focus and resilience.

“Surround yourself with people who uplift you, and support one another. Most importantly, believe in yourself when no one else sees your potential.

“I think it is important that we give back. Someone sent me a video where it said, if we want to grow and be successful, we need to serve. There needs to be a purpose.

“So I’m asking that while you sit in this room and you know you are our esteemed guest, that we are giving back to you, that we ask you to give back to your family, to your sisters, to your brothers, to the family, to the next students. So that’s all we ask of you as well.

“Give back, honour your mother and your father, your parents, your aunts and your uncles, the caregivers. That is so important, because by doing that, you will then be able to strive to be successful.

“When your path feels unclear, trust that your hard work is building something meaningful. Strive for value. Because with value, trust, ethics, all the hard work that you put in, you will be able to be and go somewhere from where you started.”

Katleho Seele, a Grade 12 learner and current RCL president at Brakpan High School, stated it was an honour to stand before the audience and represent a group of young people whose futures have been brightened thanks to someone’s investment in their potential.

“We’re not just celebrating a partnership, we’re celebrating impact, real, meaningful and life-changing impact that continues to shape the story of different learners,” she said.

“The partnership was established long before many of us could even speak. In fact, when I was about only a year old, this programme was already working to uplift the black child, the township learner, the dreamer who simply needed someone to believe in them.”

She pointed out that the foundation has shown someone cares about their success, and believes in their success.

“Sci-Com Foundation did not just give us extra lessons. It is giving us belief, and today we carry that hope forward. Nelson Mandela once said education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.

“And as we stand here today, we are reminded that through programmes like this, we are equipped with that very weapon,” she said.

“May we use it wisely, with purpose, because the future truly is in our hands.”

Nkopane expressed that he just wanted learners to excel in mathematics and science, to understand and apply these subjects, and to believe that even those from the most disadvantaged areas can succeed in fields like medicine and science.

“One learner was the school’s RCL president, and when he finished, he had nothing. We had to come together with Mr Madonsela (Mduduzi, Carnival City’s SED specialist),” said Nkopane.

“He had to speak to his management, and we made a plan. The next thing, the boy was in Cuba, doing medicine, and today he’s a doctor.

“Another young man, very special to my heart, he was the RCL president. He stayed alone with an aunt, who was a domestic worker. For three years, he stayed alone.

“His parents passed away when he was in Grade Nine. We made sure that he gets a bursary, and today he holds a master’s in engineering science.”

He provided many more examples of past learners who have gone on to achieve remarkable success, including
another doctor, a chartered accountant, an advocate, a civil engineer, and many others who are making a meaningful impact in their fields.

“The list is endless. We help boys and girls, that’s our reach, but more important, we make sure that no matter whether you come from the corner of the squatter camp, if you want to achieve, we get you, we educate you, and we bring you on board.

“That’s the story of Sci-Com, just a pure non-profit company that takes pride in making sure that our learners receive and get strategic positions in this country,” said Nkopane.

He conveyed his gratitude to Sun International and Carnival City management for all their support, and acknowledged the Department of Education for recognising the project as a credible programme and a vision that contributes to achieving its goals.