Youth Month: Minister addresses Grandwest CSI bursary graduation

As we continue our Youth Month commemorations, the Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Albert Fritz, addressed the Grandwest CSI bursary graduation ceremony.

The event celebrated 29 young people who had received bursaries from the Grandwest CSI Bursary Fund, and who have graduated from various science, technology, engineering and math degrees.

The 29 youth all come from poor backgrounds, and received funding from the Grandwest CSI to pursue their degrees at different universities in the Western Cape.

The Grandwest CSI has contributed over R18-million towards the tertiary education of young people. These 29 graduates bring the total to 1323 students who have been funded by this initiative.

In his address Minister Fritz congratulated the graduates and Grandwest CSI.

“We encourage the private sector to play a bigger role in the development of young people”, said Minister Fritz, who continued to say, “that is why the Department has invested R15.6-million this financial year to support youth initiatives and roll out our innovative Youth Cafés throughout the province”.

The Grandwest CSI Bursary Fund is innovative in how it does not require graduates to repay the monetary value of the bursary, but rather asks the graduates to pay it forward by volunteering in charitable initiatives.

The Department applauds this approach, as it raises awareness around the need for social responsibility, and encourages the whole-of-society approach. We wish the graduates well in their future careers.