CORE BELIEFS

Our Enterprise Development ED initiatives

• must be at grassroots and micro business levels, as it is at this level that people have been, and still are, the most vulnerable and in need of assistance
• must have realistic ‘final outcomes’. For example some of our ED Programmes involve manufacturing start-ups where we assist with guidance and business mentoring. The overall & long term goal being for the beneficiaries to perform all aspects themselves without depending on our future assistance.
  • Our point: Sustainability:

Our Socio Economic Development SED initiatives

• They should have more of a practical nature than a charitable one.
• That’s why our main SED focus is on Education
• and our other SED Projects help to sustain (practically support – by buying product) our ED Projects
• Of course we acknowledge there are many other social challenges that affect the underprivileged, such as hunger, single or “no Parent” families, lack of appropriate clothing, inadequate or no housing, lack of public services …….. the list goes on.   – so why does REDS choose education as our main Focus
• For us it’s simple. While not ignoring political strategies of the past, the lack of adequate quality education of the mass of our population is the root cause of poverty. And while acknowledging that the situation has generally improved for millions in respect of education, it is common knowledge that the ‘System’ is failing or has failed.
• Government’s Paper”Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025″” clearly admits this.
• Our Initiative will provide the Catalyst needed for Improved Learning and Results
  
• And while it’s encouraging to see that they are addressing the problem, we feel that the target date set of 2025 will totally miss millions of school learners during the intervening 14 years, should they manage to reach their goals. South Africa simply cannot afford this attrition.
• Educating our youth is the key to our nation’s future, and by teaching school children “how to learn” effectively will cause better results, better mindsets among Learners that will cause better rapport with their peers, parents and teachers. It will enable them to grasp and understand the “big picture”, And at the end of their school and/or tertiary learning they will have a much better chance of being useful and self sustainable citizens. As opposed to the present system that permits them to say “I’ve spent 12 years in school and I’ve passed a lot of exams – please give a job”; and doesn’t prepare them adequately for the 21^st Century.

• In this way involvement in our initiative is more in line with Para 3.2.1 of the BBBEE Codes that state “Socio Economic Development Contributions …. implemented … with the specific objective of facilitating sustainable access to the economy for those beneficiaries”