MARKING OUR 50th ANNIVERSARY

The Sugar Industry Trust Fund for Education (SITFE) recently formally celebrated its fiftieth year of existence by hosting a glittering black tie event at Durban’s Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. Attendees included representatives of the South African sugar industry, SITFE and its supporters, and provincial government, and also previous and current beneficiaries of the SITFE. The previous beneficiaries include Judge President John Hlophe of the Western Cape Division of the High Court, businesswoman and former KwaZulu-Natal First Lay, Dr May Mashego-Mkhize, and Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande. Since its inception, SITFE has provided bursaries to approximately 10 000 children of farmworkers in SA’s sugarcane growing sector, and financed school building projects, among its various activities. KwaZulu-Natal’s Premier, Senzo Mchunu, said that the contribution that the SITFE had made towards the provision of quality education for these children was “immeasurable”.