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On 30 July, MOT SA held its 12th Annual General Meeting and 2nd Virtual Meeting to 65 participants, both locally and internationally. The AGM was attended by MOT Coaches, MOT Youth, Board Members Partners, Funders and Potential Funders and Partners.
The theme for our 12th AGM was #Courage2Rise, which means to rise above one’s circumstances, challenges and tribulations, and this is exactly what MOT SA did when being hit by the pandemic.
MOT Foundation CEO, Katrine Judovica shared that the four founders of MOT asked crucial questions like – Why do some people destroy their lives and others and why do some people destroy society. And that with these questions, amongst others, MOT was born, as a preventative programme. She further shared that after much research, the MOT concept was created which contributes to solving social problems such as bullying, violence, crime, social exclusion, alcohol and drug abuse and mental health issues. “We are the change-makers”, said Katrine, ending off her presentation.
Chairperson, Yasmin Forbes shared that the theme of 2020, #Courage2Rise was absolutely relevant as it pushed us to embrace our values and principles and how we measured ourselves and our performance and find the courage within. Review how we operate, finding the courage on how to adapt. Yasmin provided a special thanks to all MOT Partners, Funders and Associates for their support and assistance during the challenging time during 2020. Yasmin further gave a special thanks to the MOT Founders and MOT Foundation for the inspiration and for the support they always provide to the MOT SA Office.
Country Director, Julia Benjamin shared during her Country Director’s Reflections that 2020 was definitely a year where we put our value of the courage to care and rise into action. “We need to tap into our youth’s potential, self-leadership and self-awareness, courage and resilience and make them a better person to be able to contribute to our South African society”, says Julia.
“MOT has a number of points of impact and with active implementation of the MOT Programmes, False Bay College saw improved academic performance on the campuses that were actively running the sessions. MOT was evident with the ability to get students to open up to share their stories as they felt they were in a safe place. MOT adds unseen value for students and the impact of the programme gives them skills that will stay with them for years to come”, says Melanie Vermaak, Former Deputy Principal for Education and Training for False Bay TVET College.
“The partnership with MOT has been amazing and we are grateful for the support, because not only have our facilitators been well-trained to deliver proper MOT sessions to our youth, but also because of the mentorship and constant check-ups from the MOT Office”, says Mhinti Pato, Sakhisizwe YDP Founder & CEO.
Cheslyn Rippenaar, Young MOTivator and MOT Coach shared that to him means that MOT to him means life and that he always tap into the tools provided by MOT to carry on, whenever he is in a a difficult situation. “MOT is one of the best things that could ever happen to me and I don’t know where I would have been if it had not been for MOT. MOT found me”, says Cheslyn.
This year we would like to announce that we have 2 new awards, including the Are Hovstad Award as this is the time to acknowledge and highlight those who are and who have been resilient, motivating themselves and others, and having the #Courage2Rise above all the challenges.
Categories in place:
The Top Final nominees for this award has been JP Duminy, Ency Litsoane, Janice and MJ Li. We thank you for your courage, for being a part of conflict resolution, for always acknowledging MOT wherever you go, for going over and above to assist the MOT Office always and for putting us in contact with different partners and sponsors.
The award goes to…
JP Duminy!! Thank you for always availing yourself when we need you and for staying consistent!
We appreciate you so much!
We thank you for your courage, for being a part of conflict resolution, for always acknowledging MOT wherever you go, for going over and above to assist the MOT Office always and for putting us in contact with different partners and sponsors.
The Courage Award was started to honour and highlight our partners and organisations for all the work that they put into delivering the MOT Programme and for always going over and above and having the #Courage2Rise
And the winner of this award goes to Sakhisizwe YDP!!
The Are Hovstad Award is named after a Norwegian community activist, Jarl Are Hovstad, who became a permanent South African resident. He was honoured by HRH King Harald of Norway for his work in education and health on the Cape Flats.
He was also awarded Western Cape provincial honours in the form of The Order of the Disa, bestowed various Rotary International awards and was instrumental in the establishment of a life-skills programme for students and learners in TVET colleges and schools. He was also one of the initiators of bringing MOT to South Africa.
The nominees of this award reflect and embody his spirit, lives life by being and accepting themselves sincerely and apologetically, respect and care for themselves and others, speaks out when needed and stands by their values, who have gone over and above, and positively impacted their communities, especially during the pandemic and after.
And the award goes to… Darren Maybe!!
Darren Maybe was the ultimate winner and reflects and embodies the spirit of our beloved Are Hovstad, lives life by being and accepting themselves sincerely and apologetically, respects and care for himself and others, speak out when needed and stands by his values.
Darren is also a Young MOTivator and the Vice President of the SRC at False Bay TVET College.
Read the article published via the False Bay Echo Newspaper more here
We acknowledge and thank you for all the nominations we have received.
Stacy Edwards, the new incoming president of Wynberg Rotary Club shared more about The MOT Grassy Park Courage to Care Project that is currently running at 3 schools in the Grassy Park area.
She gave a special thanks to Odd Henning for his assistance, intervention and drive for applying for a Global grant for MOT SA.
After 6 years at MOT SA and 3 years as Country Director, Julia Benjamin has decided to step down. We thank you for being a part of the MOT journey, your commitment, values, principles and belief. You are still a part of the MOT Family.
Atle Varvik thanked Julia for being the role model in building the MOT culture in South Africa and in the office and that he is proud of all the work she has done as part of her role.
Sigrun thanked Julia for being a great team player within the MOT Office and the Global Team, always wanting to support and share her experiences and she has been a great asset for MOT South Africa.
Prof Eltie Links thanked Julia for growing MOT South Africa to what it is and for rebuilding its foundation and wished Viola and the MOT SA Team all the best in its new team.
Julia thanked the MOT Team, MOT Board, Foundation and Global for the incredible experiences and opportunities she has received from being a part of the MOT Family. Julia shared that she feels at peace after meeting Viola that thanked the MOT SA board and Foundation for their support when she was appointed as Country Director and during her time.
We welcome the new Country Director, Viola Manual!
Welcome to the MOT Family and we look forward to your taking the baton and taking MOT to its next level.
Viola is an accomplished senior executive in both strategy and implementation, Viola Manuel has sat on numerous boards and been nominated for multiple awards.
Viola holds an MBA (Herriot Watt University, Scotland), HDipEd (UCT) and BA (UCT) and is looking forward to completing her DBA.
Read more about Viola and the work she’s done via our website here
In the meantime, Andiswa Makha will be the caretaker in the meantime. Kindly contact Andiswa at andiswa@mot.org.za should you have any queries.
We would like to thank all our MOT Enthusiasts for a successful 2nd Virtual AGM. It wouldn’t have been possible without you!
We are excited to share news about an important new partnership between MOT South Africa and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). Together, we’re launching a pilot project aimed at helping students build mental resilience, courage, confidence, and leadership skills. This project will take place in ten schools in the Athlone and Management community: Mount […]
In August 2024, MOT South Africa successfully hosted its third MOT Coaches’ Basic Education training for the year, welcoming a new cohort of MOT Coaches from Western Cape High School, TVET Colleges and Community Organisations. This intensive training provided our educators, lecturers and youth workers with the tools and knowledge to effectively facilitate the MOT […]
We’re excited to kick off a special competition as part of this year’s Courage to Care Day Campaign! This competition invites all MOT Enthusiasts, schools, colleges, and organizations to participate in a meaningful and enjoyable way while supporting a worthy cause. The competition will run from 2 September – 7 October. But first, let’s get […]