Helping teens cross borders

WHEN a spontaneous discussion around the dinner table led to a concept of an international student exchange programme, Richards Bay resident Schalk Smuts knew his idea would change the lives of hundreds of students worldwide.

During his teaching years in the early 90s, Smuts, who hailed from a farm in Estcourt, ventured on a trip to Austria and Germany with a school group which landed him at the home of the Depold family.

Siegi Depold was then the deputy mayor of small German town Pocking.

‘After dinner one evening, we sat around a table and started talking about an exchange programme between South Africa and Bavaria.

‘The four of us, Siegi and Marlene Depold, the late Allen Bush and I thought it was a brilliant idea and the following year we had 25 Germans paying Pietermaritzburg a visit.

‘Carter High School was the host for the first project,’Smuts told the Zululand Observer.

Development

In 1993 a group of SA youth travelled to Germany and since then the project has grown from strength to strength.

‘We wanted the youth from the two countries to experience different cultures and to market their respective countries. During those years of isolation, overseas countries had a very negative perspective of SA.’

‘The project developed from changing people’s perspectives to a very strong social orientated programme. Just as an example, during this year’s visit two orphanages benefitted from funds donated by two mayors from Germany and the support for those two orphanages will continue.

A number of schools and orphanages in South Africa have benefited from this project in the past. More than 600 youth have travelled abroad.

With 27 years in education, 15 years as headmaster, Smuts decided to undergo a career change and joined the PEG group and began operating at the North Coast 1 Stop in 2010. He received the title as National Dealer of the Year in 2014.

A number of Empangeni High School pupils will be making their way to Germany next year.