Northam Booysendal Platinum empowers the youth

Norham Booysendal Platinum believes in giving to the community around it and empowering the youth.

This was done as part of the mine’s strategy for improving the social, environmental and economic well-being of their communities and society at large.
All communities in ward 5 of Thaba Chweu Local Munici pality benefited from this campaign.

This informative campaign has changed the mindset of local learners, with over 500 grade 12 learners from four schools benefiting.

Learners from Skhila High School, Mashishing High School, Tonteldoos High School and Hoërskool Lydenburg were encouraged to make informed decisions about their career.
It was a one-day programme for each school, in which learners listened to motivational speaker, Abednico Makina, and a former university student, Thato Chuma, who wrote a book on her experiences.

This campaign was made possible by the two general managers of Booysendal Platinum Mine, Worderboy Kekana and Mosala Letebele, who believe that education is the key to success. The stakeholder department, headed by Alpheus Mothiba and Innocent Ramutloa, invests in the socio-economic well-being of the local communities.
Ramutloa, stakeholder engagement coordinator of Northam Booysendal Platinum Mine, said learners received stationery, school bags, caps, motivational books and many more.

“The aim was not only to provide learners with gift, but to also prepare them mentally and psychologically for the year ahead. For life after school, hence a company called Sassy Wellness, which is a social services company that specialises in various key services, was brought on board. They specialise in various key services such as employee wellness, psychosocial services and school social work. They provide services to learners, parents and schools that experience psycho-social barriers which inhibit learners from reaching their full potential.”

The learners received different books, so if one needs some new inspiration, they can exchange with a friend. The most important thing is the motivation for the learners, as the battle is always in the mind.

Each speaker had something encouraging to share with the learners.

Chuma shared her experiences and gave tips on how to deal with peer pressure and academics. “Time management is important. If you manage your time right, you will get good results at the end of the year.

“This is because you have a social life, chores, sports and other leisure. Time management also applies to your study time. Other people focus at night, afternoon and some in the morning. Some are active in study groups. Know yourself and how your brain works, so do your schedule accordingly. You do not have to cross night because your friends are doing it, if your brain is not active at night. It does not help if it does not work for you, so it will waste your time. By the time you realise it, your trial exams are approaching and you are not going to make it,” she said.

Makina, the main speaker, reminded the learners of how unique they are. He also added that they were made to succeed in everything they do.

You were not made to fail. You were made to succeed. When your creator made you, he put some mechanism in you to go through life successfully. For example, when you eat bread there is something in your mouth that prepares you to eat it successfully. This happens so that it goes down your throat into your stomach, through your intestines. The nutrients get absorbed without you telling it to do so.

The mechanism that God builds in you is meant to help you succeed. This explanation is meant to help you understand that you were meant to succeed. Just like the digestion process, everything in you is meant to be successful,” he said.

Makina encouraged the learners to know themselves and to know how to succeed in their careers.

The girls were given sanitary towels and had a special meeting after the event.

“Over 7 000 000 girls between the ages of 13 and 19 are going to school in South Africa. Of that, about 4000 000 cannot afford to buy monthly sanitary towels. This, therefore, affects their school attendance by up to 25 per cent every year, as they have to stay home for a week every month. Offering girls disposable sanitary towels is a great idea, but not sustainable for those with no money as it becomes once-off. Washable sanitary towels offer them dignity for a very long time, as they can be used for up to five years. These were supplied with three sets of panties and three sets of self-clipping pads,” said Ramutloa.

Northam Platinum Limited (Northam) is a primary producer of platinum group metals (PGMs). The principal consumers of PGMs are the motor-manufacturing and jewellery industries. The shallow, mechanised, room-and-pillar Booysendal UG2 North Mine is located near the town of Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg) on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex.