We bade farewell to our Matric Ruthies at our final mentor Saturday of the year on 10 October. In keeping with our tradition, the departing girls paid tribute to those involved in the mentor programme.
“Ms King you are by far the best indeed. You are one in a million who would wake up on a Saturday morning and return to the one place you see every day of the week. You always carry a smile on your face and greet us in a warm manner which lights up our morning every time no matter how moody or sleepy we may be. Not only are you a good person on the inside, but the best teacher as well: you inspired hope in me, ignited my imagination and instilled in me the love of learning. I will never forget the fun activities you included in your class to enhance your lessons. I especially love the way you always related lessons to real-life examples that would allow the work to make more sense to us. Because you believed in us, we never gave up trying. Now we are flying towards our dreams because of you.” – Aasia Olivier
“Thank you for being a kind, honest and dedicated mentor to each and every Ruthie before me and those yet to come, Mr Tait. Your presence has made such a huge impact on me. Your priceless love, patience and motivations about maintaining our benchmark has been remarkable throughout these years. Keep up the good work and shine brighter than the diamond in the sky. God Bless You! Dear Ruthie Dad!!” - Jabulile Mhambi
“Thank you for all the laughs, lessons and joy. The mentorship programme has taught us a lot of skills. We have learnt about ourselves and built meaningful and special bonds with each other. The lessons we’ve learnt here will be with us in the next chapter of our lives and forever. We are extremely grateful for spending these Saturdays over the last five years. We are going to miss these moments of bliss and filling our plates with biscuits.” - Agatha Dube
“Thank you, Raymond, for spreading good vibes over the past 5 years. Your energy and enthusiasm have lifted our spirits every time at our meetings. We appreciate the life you give to the meetings. Everything we have done has been fun and rejuvenating, because you made it so. Keep smiling, stay happy.” - Lulama Nodada
“Jackie, you have been like a mother to us over these five years. You are a kind, helpful and understanding person who lends an ear to those seeking help. From you we have learnt to remain resilient through our tribulations and to always remain focused in order to achieve our goals. We love you and appreciate you. Your impact in our lives will not be forgotten but rather forever imprinted in our hearts.” - Heaven Nen.
We are extremely grateful to our twenty-one mentors who have remained dedicated to the programme throughout this difficult year, and Raymond Nettmann from ecl who leads our mentor sessions.
And to our Matrics – write well, fly safe and stay the course towards your goals. We look forward to welcoming you into our Alumnae group in 2021.
Ms Olivia King is pictured above with Agatha Dube and Heaven Nen.