Change is good for Cotlands
Monica, who joined Cotlands in 2007, thanked Jackie for creating a space for her to flourish at Cotlands.
COTLANDS chairman, Dumisani Ncala said economically it made sense for them to leave the Turffontein premises and relocate to Ormonde during the Cotlands’ 73rd AGM held in Gold Reef City Theme Park Hotel on September 19.
He also thanked his former CEO, Jackie Schoeman, for her sterling work at Cotlands which spanned almost two decades. “She served the organisation with distinction. In other organisations it is not easy to shift leadership, however, it was seamless when Monica Stach took over from her,” he said.
Jackie reminiscence of the old days where they used to adopt HIV positive children. “We did a lot as Cotlands. I remember when we took the government to court to prevent the number of HIV positive children from dying. Also, the transition to Early Child Development (ECD) because the children weren’t dying, Monica helped a lot in driving Cotlands in that direction. Evolution was inevitable.
“Thank you to everybody who helped me manage this organisation for so long. And to our chairman, Dumisani and the staff, the support you gave me kept me going, thank you,” she said.
Monica, who joined Cotlands in 2007, thanked Jackie for creating a space for her to flourish at Cotlands. “This organisation is one of the best gifts one could get. We will take Cotlands to the next level. Being in the office for a couple of days I have been accessing what needs to be done to improve this organisation. We need to scale up, this has shown in our records. Cotlands has reached four times more children than in 2015.
“Going forward, we need to evolve and collaborate with other organisations dealing with children. Partnership is the way forward. Time has come for ECDs to collaborate and work together, not in silos. We need to explore new ways to work smart and reach more children,” explained new CEO of Cotlands, Monica Stach.
Alan Oswald, who assists Cotlands in financial matters, said although their finances are in order, they need support. Overall Cotlands is doing well and the children need all the support they can get.
Linda Smith from Care For Education emphasised the importance of teaching children through playing. She also demonstrated the power of Six Bricks supported by Lego.
Board members for 2017/2018 are Dumisani Ncala, Janet du Preez, Katherine Madley, Mike Coward, Michal Bolanowski, Sundrie Naidoo, Vincenzo Scarcella and Josie Rowe-Setz. The following board members resigned from the management board: Eleanor Huggett, Indiran Gounden, Clive Pintusewitz and Peter Moloney.
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