The bank account has been created. Somehow, the bank staff member we spoke to last week failed to mention that we need to deposit R200 into the bank account to start off with. The gentleman we were dealing with (Igshaan Abrahams), however, said this is no train smash, and we can deposit the money later. So that's something we have to make sure we get done during the week. All four signatories were present; myself, Papama Magqwashe, Sambulo Mathebula, and Linda Jacobs; and we signed all relevant documentation. Igshaan forgot to print out a document and allowed Sambulo to leave before he had signed it, the rest of us signed the document. Igshaan said that this, too, was no train smash as he would call Sambulo during the week and go to him to get his signature on the document. The bank account details are as follows:
All trustees are linked to the group account. We went with the name ECRuralEDU for the time being. When enough creative juices have flowed, and we have a new group name, we are most welcome to change the name of the account whenever we please. We will need at least two trustees, with their IDs, to be present for this. We also chose home address; A2 Acacia Park, Goodwood, 7460; for the groups address. The reason for this is that Papama wasn't too sure about using his address, Sambulo might be moving and so might Linda. If, and when, we want to change the group address we are also welcome to do so at any time. This, too, will require at least two trustees, with their IDs, to be present. Another thing that will require the presence of at least two trustees, with their IDs, is the withdrawal of funds. So this is a warning; when we do get money into the account, and start using that money, we will have to think ahead. i.e. if funds are needed for something, make sure you ask for such funds timeously so that it is possible for two trustees to be available to withdraw those funds. Anyone can deposit money into the account. Should someone no longer wish to be a trustee ALL four trustees will have to be present, with their IDs, and a resignation letter will be required from the resigning trustee to effect his/her wishes. The replacement of a trustee, or the addition of a new trustee, will also require ALL four trustees to be present with their IDs - minutes indicating the appointment of the individual as a trustee will also be needed. Our group account falls under Clubs/Associations/Societies/Trade Unions/Cooperatives, so when we finally do get registered as an NPO, we will be sorted. All the group's bank account documentation is with me. Should I keep them or do you guys think they ought to be kept elsewhere? I will forward an email, from Igshaan, with a scanned version of the documents. Please take some time to read through the documents and do let me know if you have any questions you would like me to pose to Igshaan.
After having explained all of that, it is important to address our group membership. Linda, Sambulo, Papama, and I were talking at the bank, and we seemed to agree that we need an exact tally of who is involved in the group and who isn't. Our understanding is that there are approximately 22 people in the group, yet it is evident that the number of people involved in our conversations is far less than 22. We understand that people are busy and cannot always reply to emails. We also understand that there may be people who no longer think they can participate in the group. Another thing we understand is that there are those who really want to participate, but may not necessarily have time to engage in the planning and day-to-day conversations of the group. For the latter, my suggestion is that we have a volunteer status for these members - and so they aren't necessarily expected to engage in every bit of planning and all the conversations the group has. This would then prevent people from receiving emails they do not have time for, and it would give the group a clear picture of the capacity of the "planning group". My suggestion is this: that we all reply to this email and state what our statuses are: A) In the group, and want to be involved in planning ; B) In the group, but only in volunteer/task team status ; C) No longer interested in being in the group. What do you guys think? Is that a fair ask?
While on the topic of group membership, I would just like to raise the fact that we will soon need to start thinking about, and assign, roles/positions of people in the group. This is some of the information that will be required in the process of registering the group as an NPO. Still, on the NPO topic, Paps (Papama Magqwashe) needs a go ahead to forward our constitution to the Legal Resource Centre who have kindly offered to help us finalise our constitution and help us in the NPO registration process. Please respond in this regard. I, for one, am happy for Paps to forward the Constitution.
FINALLY! SOME GOOD NEWS :D
I made some calls yesterday - to Help2Read, The Jozi Book Fair, Heinemann Book Publishers, and Equal Education. I was obviously calling to see whether or not these organisations can help us with donating books to us. Though Help2Read is an organisation that asks for donations, just like us, Gina Aphane (the lady I was speaking to) took down my details and said that she would contact me if they had anything for us. The person to speak to at The Jozi Book Fair was in a workshop the whole day, so I'll try again as soon again during the course of this coming week. As I said last week, Heinemann wanted a letter from us on our group letterhead, with our NPO registration number and all other necessary details. Obviously we don't have these yet and, unfortunately, they only deal with registered organisations - so they won't be able to help us as yet.
Equal Education was GREAT! I spoke to a guy called Cosmos Mabenya, whom I met with at 15:00 yesterday. Cosmos loves what we're doing and he is keen to work with us. He says they've been looking for places to help in the Eastern Cape. He led me to their back room, where he showed me boxes and boxes and boxes of textbooks, and he said we could have as many as we needed. What he has asked me is to write up where we want to go with this - kind of like a wish list - so that he has an idea of our vision, how to help us, and so that whenever he bumps into something he knows whether or not it is something that would be helpful to us. I think our constitution paints a clear picture, but we can definitely add more if there is more to be added. What do you think? If you have any contributions, please send them as soon as possible so that I am able to get back to Cosmos as soon as possible. After that is sorted out I will go to Cosmos, and we will plan how we are going get the books home. Cosmos said that we can choose the books we want, package them, and he can even sort out transportation for them to get to Tyhali SSS. Equal Education may need some of our volunteer services at their bookery (covering books, cataloguing books, etc), once in a while, in exchange for their kindness - I'm not too sure about this, I will double check with Cosmos. He understands that not all of us are in Cape Town, and that some are hectically busy, so he is happy with dealing with me or the few who are in Cape Town whenever they can. Cosmos also said there's much more we can do (with their help), he asked me what I think of bringing a library into Tyhali SSS. He said that, over some time, they could definitely help us bring a library into the school - that is in fact what their business is, putting libraries in schools. So once we've agreed on the write up of our vision for the project, I will contact Cosmos and we'll get moving. Let's get on this fast guys, this an opportunity we cannot overlook or take for granted.
So here are the thinking points that need your response:
I think I have taken up enough of your time.
Regards
Sibongakonke
Firstly let me apologies for not being as active as I should have, I'm going through a lot of personal thngs at the moment bt this does nt excuse being upsent. And to respond in responce to the questions yes i'm still very much part of the group and want to be involved with everythng, i'm happy with everythng that has been drafted by Sibo and it would be so great if we cld also be able to get a library in the school(as mentioned).
Regards
Ncebakazi
Hi all
-----Original Message-----
From: Sibongakonke Mama <sibong...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:51:12
To: Tume Qhali<itumele...@yahoo.com>; <th...@ecsecc.org>; <zazi.n...@gmail.com>; <bonani....@gmail.com>; <amty...@gmail.com>; <smji...@gmail.com>; <liko...@gmail.com>; <khum...@yahoo.co.uk>; <kalipa.s...@gmail.com>; <damb...@gmail.com>; Papama Magqwashe<papa...@gmail.com>; Sabelo Mcinziba<cdrsa...@gmail.com>; vuyo madyaka<vmad...@hotmail.co.za>; yolanda damba<yola....@gmail.com>; <asa...@gmail.com>; <ecrur...@googlegroups.com>; <sambulo....@gmail.com>; Siphokazi Ximiya<sipokaz...@gmail.com>; <ak.n...@gmail.com>
Subject: Updates updates updates
Hi all
A couple of things will be spoken about in this email. Those being:
- The bank account
- Group members
- Good news
The bank account has been created. Somehow, the bank staff member we spoke
to last week failed to mention that we need to deposit R200 into the bank
account to start off with. The gentleman we were dealing with (Igshaan
Abrahams), however, said this is no train smash, and we can deposit the
money later. So that's something we have to make sure we get done during
the week. All four signatories were present; myself, Papama Magqwashe,
Sambulo Mathebula, and Linda Jacobs; and we signed all relevant
documentation. Igshaan forgot to print out a document and allowed Sambulo
to leave before he had signed it, the rest of us signed the document.
Igshaan said that this, too, was no train smash as he would call Sambulo
during the week and go to him to get his signature on the document. The
bank account details are as follows:
- Name: ECRURALEDU
- Account number: 2003587802
- Branch Name: Nedbank St George's Mall
- Branch Code:101709
- Type: Club Account
- R200 for bank account - do four trustees contribute R50 each? Must we
all just deposit what we can, as we discussed earlier in the week? This
needs to be sorted out within 30 days from now.
- Any questions, for Igshaan, from reading the bank account documents
(in email to follow)?
- Group membership - who's involved in planning? who's out? who's in as
a volunteer?
- NPO registration - may Paps forward our constitution to the Legal
Resource Centre?
- Roles - I don't think this is hugely urgent, yet, but we need to start
thinking about assigning roles and positions for the NPO registration
process
- Equal Education - Does the constitution suffice as a description of
I have no objections to progress thus far. Constitution and "partnership" with Equal Education is thumbs up on my side. Will make bank deposit as soon as my 'Gupta' pulls through.
Blessed Monday to all.
Papama Matsiliza
I also have to agree that we think the mentorship thng cz from my side I would love to help the students in any way that I can bt I scared that I will nt have time to sit and chat on FB or anywhere I bearly hv time to do my own thngs bcz of being busy all the time. But with ths being said if there is no other way to do ths I will try to make myself available for the student bt they wil hv to understand I cnt always be around which will be bad for them.
Ncebakazi
----- Original Message -----
From:Sibongakonke
To:th...@ecsecc.org,Tume Qhali,zazi.n...@gmail.com,bonani....@gmail.com,amty...@gmail.com,smji...@gmail.com,liko...@gmail.com,khum...@yahoo.co.uk,kalipa.s...@gmail.com,damb...@gmail.com,Papama Magqwashe,Sabelo Mcinziba,vuyo madyaka,yolanda damba,asa...@gmail.com,ecrur...@googlegroups.com,sambulo....@gmail.com,Siphokazi Ximiya,ak.n...@gmail.com
Subject:Re: Feedback please
Hi all
Forgive me for the continuous emailing today, but it's necessary. The letter to Cosmas has been sent, with 10 out of 17 people having okayed it. Unfortunately, I could not wait for everyone to respond. We will not be able to get much done if we have to wait on everyone to reply at a time of their own.
Just a response to Thoko's email that will need everyone's input. I think mentorship is more involved and requires more planning than we think. As mentioned in the letter, I think the idea of us being the children's penpals/facebook friends needs revision. We struggle to reply to emails as they come in because of our schedules, so we really need to rethink being the children's penpals/facebook. I say this because I already have a mentore type relationship with a young girl (grade 11) in Hout Bay, and what I have learned is that young people are very vulnerable and need immediate attention - more so when it comes to people they look up to. If I miss a couple of calls or don't reply to some facebook messages (because I'm busy at work), she takes it personally, gets upset, and thinks of all sorts of wild reasons as to why I'm not responding. With that said, I repeat; because of the limited amount of time we all have, we need to rethink our mentorship roles. It would be better for the children to gain conversational stimulation from people with more time than us and, maybe, people closer to their ages. What do you guys think of the idea of organising a penpal relationship with a school this side or elsewhere in the country? Let's discuss.
Regards
Sbonga
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
-----Original Message-----
From: th...@ecsecc.org
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 11:25:32
To: <sibong...@gmail.com>; Tume Qhali<itumele...@yahoo.com>; <zazi.n...@gmail.com>; <bonani....@gmail.com>; <amty...@gmail.com>; <smji...@gmail.com>; <liko...@gmail.com>; <khum...@yahoo.co.uk>; <kalipa.s...@gmail.com>; <damb...@gmail.com>; Papama Magqwashe<papa...@gmail.com>; Sabelo Mcinziba<cdrsa...@gmail.com>; vuyo madyaka<vmad...@hotmail.co.za>; yolanda damba<yola....@gmail.com>; <asa...@gmail.com>; <ecrur...@googlegroups.com>; <sambulo....@gmail.com>; Siphokazi Ximiya<sipokaz...@gmail.com>; <ak.n...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: th...@ecsecc.org
Subject: Re: Feedback please
Hi All
I would like to thank Sibo for all the contributions that he has made towards the constitution and I think you are spot on in terms of the vision of the initiative. Cosmas will find no gaps in what we are trying to do for the disadvantaged schools in the Eastern Cape.
I think the mentoring of pupils must start asap,because it does not need much administration.
Regards,
Thoko
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
Hi all
-----Original Message-----
From: Sibongakonke Mama <sibong...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:51:12
To: Tume Qhali<itumele...@yahoo.com>; <th...@ecsecc.org>; <zazi.n...@gmail.com>; <bonani....@gmail.com>; <amty...@gmail.com>; <smji...@gmail.com>; <liko...@gmail.com>; <khum...@yahoo.co.uk>; <kalipa.s...@gmail.com>; <damb...@gmail.com>; Papama Magqwashe<papa...@gmail.com>; Sabelo Mcinziba<cdrsa...@gmail.com>; vuyo madyaka<vmad...@hotmail.co.za>; yolanda damba<yola....@gmail.com>; <asa...@gmail.com>; <ecrur...@googlegroups.com>; <sambulo....@gmail.com>; Siphokazi Ximiya<sipokaz...@gmail.com>; <ak.n...@gmail.com>
Subject: Updates updates updates
Hi all
A couple of things will be spoken about in this email. Those being:
- The bank account
- Group members
- Good news
The bank account has been created. Somehow, the bank staff member we spoke
to last week failed to mention that we need to deposit R200 into the bank
account to start off with. The gentleman we were dealing with (Igshaan
Abrahams), however, said this is no train smash, and we can deposit the
money later. So that's something we have to make sure we get done during
the week. All four signatories were present; myself, Papama Magqwashe,
Sambulo Mathebula, and Linda Jacobs; and we signed all relevant
documentation. Igshaan forgot to print out a document and allowed Sambulo
to leave before he had signed it, the rest of us signed the document.
Igshaan said that this, too, was no train smash as he would call Sambulo
during the week and go to him to get his signature on the document. The
bank account details are as follows:
- Name: ECRURALEDU
- Account number: 2003587802
- Branch Name: Nedbank St George's Mall
- Branch Code:101709
- Type: Club Account
- R200 for bank account - do four trustees contribute R50 each? Must we
all just deposit what we can, as we discussed earlier in the week? This
needs to be sorted out within 30 days from now.
- Any questions, for Igshaan, from reading the bank account documents
(in email to follow)?
- Group membership - who's involved in planning? who's out? who's in as
a volunteer?
- NPO registration - may Paps forward our constitution to the Legal
Resource Centre?
- Roles - I don't think this is hugely urgent, yet, but we need to start
thinking about assigning roles and positions for the NPO registration
process
- Equal Education - Does the constitution suffice as a description of