Most significantly, the twenty students who gained the Bambisanani Sports Leadership Award, have since gone on to run weekly after school sessions in all six sports for Mnyakanya students and are now in the process of organising a series of tournaments. As part of the visit, a Mnyakanya School Sports Council was established with the twenty Young Leaders taking responsibility for its development within the school. The Bambisanani Partnership was officially launched during the visit by the British Council at an event attended by officials from the Government’s Education and Sports Departments, students, their families, school governors and the local Zulu Chief. Head of the British Council, Mrs Rohini Naidoo said: “The Bambisanani Partnership is an outstanding example of how two schools can work together internationally. This partnership sends an important message to all schools about the benefits of working together.” The St. Mary’s community had also begun to sponsor twenty AIDS orphans into school. Speaking at the ceremony, Maria Zakwe, grandmother of a sponsored student said: “My life has been about hardship and struggle. I cannot thank St. Mary’s School enough for the opportunity it is giving my granddaughter, who now has a chance in life.” The St. Mary’s team were able to bring with them much needed resources for the school, including calculators, art materials and sports equipment.
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During this visit the partnership also managed to establish a new initiative linking senior citizens (normally grandmothers or great grandmothers) to the school to teach traditional Zulu craft skills to students. These traditional skills are slowly being lost, so this was a great way of both preserving them and celebrating Zulu culture. This was the first time that anyone from the wider community had worked with students in the school. The impact on both the students and senior citizens was fantastic and clearly had much wider benefits in terms of linking different generations. This ‘community support’ in the school is now a regular feature of school life. Profits from items sold go to support the aims of the Bambisanani Partnership. Mr William Vilakazi, Acting Principal of Mnyakanya School said: “This partnership has raised the aspirations of my learners and educators. We are motivated and inspired and my learners are doing better in school; more children are also attending school now. We have been amazed at the use of sport and leadership to educate learners. It works and is fantastic; it has made us think. It has been wonderful to see learners and educators from both countries working together.” On their return to Leeds, the St. Mary’s team delivered a series of presentations in school and beyond to students, staff, school governors, parents and business sponsors and supporters. Throughout this initiative the St. Mary’s team has sought to “inform and educate” the school and wider community in a relentless campaign of engagement through a wide range of media.