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The years of apartheid are as difficult to
write about now, in retrospect, as they were to live in at
the time.
Skandaal! In the late
1960’s, the State announced that White
schoolchildren, most of whom had already
bought their books for the year, would
be given free books while children of
colour, many of whom could not afford
schoolbooks or school-fees and who
really needed help, would get nothing at
all. Drs Jack and Margaret Elsworth and
their five school-going children lived
in Cape Town. Margaret had always worked
in missions, hospitals, schools and
churches. The Elsworth family agreed to
redistribute some of the books - and
that was how it all began.
Books poured in from
homes and schools, sometimes by the
lorry-load, filling up the house and
garage. One evening, when it was already
dark, there was a gentle tap on the
front door. There stood, very quietly, a
group of black teachers. “We have come
about the books” they said. The streams
of those coming to take books grew
steadily and, after consulting many
people, depots were set up in the School
Board offices of Langa and Guguletu.
Thanks to Mr P Ngambu, the Principal, a
main depot was finally accommodated in
the first Fezeka High School, the ample
convent buildings of the old St Joseph’s
Hospital on Lansdowne Road in Philippi.
Books were redistributed
all over the country and even across the
borders There was, however, a proviso.
No books could be given to Bantu schools
unless the Department in Pretoria
approved - a list in triplicate was
obligatory! At first it was family and
friends who helped to sort, pack and
list. Then schoolchildren began to help,
some from black township schools, some
from white suburban schools. So it was,
that after 20 years of separation, these
scholars met each other, could talk and
exchange views. This was not just useful
new experience, it was a catalyst for
change. Several of these young people,
when they left school and went on to
university, became the students who
protested about “Bantu education” on the
steps of St George’s Cathedral.
Obviously this
exhausting programme could not be
sustained. It had been a useful stopgap,
but as a permanent measure it was
insulting. Meanwhile many people were
trying to help individuals, often
through their domestic workers, handing
over money for fees and books with no
way of checking where the money went or
how the school functioned. A proper
bursary system was needed, especially
for Black children at High School.
The residue of books,
about 80 000, with its lists and files
was taken over by the Round Table in
early 1970 prior to a national meeting
of School Inspectors in Cape Town.
“Please ask them to take all they can
and then pulp the rest. This is the end”
And there was a profit of R27.00.
Interested people agreed
to begin a bursary fund - Francis
Wilson, Mike Whisson, Grace Qunta, Mr
Mgijima, Mr Ngambu, Mr Oniwe, Hansie
Pollak, Max Hales, and members of the
National Council of Women were some of
those involved. The first meeting was
held on12 Feb 1970 at the Elsworth
house. The Education Departments and the
Department of Social Welfare were
informed. The School Sports Association
who raised their money from 5c.
admission fees paid by children for
football matches in the townships was
one of the first major donors, together
with a group of Westerford
schoolchildren.
The first trustees were
Mrs Dot Cleminshaw, Dr Margaret Elsworth,
Prof R E Lighton, Mr T B Lang, Mr W G A
Mears, Mr Maeder Osler, Mr T Plaatjie,
Mrs Ande Platt and Mrs Doris M Winter.
The first applicant,
Pappie Vazana, was a boy from Worcester
whose parents had been killed by a train
at a level crossing. He had come to Cape
Town needing school-fees for himself and
his brother and had been referred to Dr
Elsworth at Red Cross Children‘s
Hospital.
The frustrated miseries
of Bantu Education caused the revolt of
schoolchildren in 1976 and our scholars
were involved. Arrests, beatings and
even torture were the lot of many. Most
of “the Comrades” were our scholars –
they met our representatives and drafted
their grievances, safely pasted in the
ASF Minute Book. The 1980s were years of
terror and oppression but the fund
persisted and grew. The first computer
was bought and the days of the Remington
typewriter were numbered.
In 1994, after 24 years
in the Elsworth house, the fund set up
an office in Rondebosch. The work grew
rapidly, numbers reaching 1000 by the
year 2000 and over 2500 by 2007, spread
among about 450 schools. Visiting
schools has always been an inspiring
part of the work, especially because
many past bursars are now educators or
even Principals. Distances are, however,
daunting. The lifeblood of the fund has
always been its system of Sponsorship
which informs donors about the scholars
whom they fund.
Although ASF had given
bursaries to Technical College students
for over 20 years, the colleges in the
Western Cape asked for a separate fund
to be established and in 1998 TECSAT
(Technical College Student Aid Trust)
began – its office is hosted by ASF. FET
students in the other provinces are the
responsibility of ASF.
African Scholars’ Fund
(UK) was established in 1998 in the
private home of Sandy Elsworth in Kent -
yet Sandy is not even paid a cup of
coffee.
In early years there was
a serious drop-out of pupils after
Primary School because they could not
afford High School. Now the problems are
with the Grade 11 and 12 learners as
they leave school and seek training for
employment. The ASF played an important
role in alerting the national education
authorities to the need for financial
help for students at the FET level. The
focus of ASF has shifted now to the need
for individual counseling and vocational
guidance.
This was a team effort
from the beginning. Although the
Elsworth family continues to be
involved, it is the regular day-to-day
work by loyal staff and trustees which
gives the fund its solid base. This team
has method and the method works, but
everyone in this team adds an extra
quality of caring and this is what makes
the organization live.
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