Cradle of Humankind Trust gives back to local community

November 3, 2011

People and science are equally important in the success and long-term sustainability of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (COH WHS). And a disbursement of R200,000 to community organisations by the Cradle of Humankind Trust at the Sterkfontein Caves earlier today reiterated this fact.

These are the first funds to be disbursed by the trust, and they were allocated to community organisations involved in social welfare, arts and culture, and youth development.

Dawn Robertson, CEO of the Cradle of Humankind Management Authority, said that the trust is investing in organisations that do incredibly valuable work: “We are delighted that through the existence of the Cradle of Humankind Trust we are able to deliver on Unesco (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) obligations, which include the creation of benefits for communities and scientific research in the immediate areas surrounding the Cradle of Humankind area.”

One of the groups to receive funding was Young Generations, a youth development organisation that has been self-sustaining since 2006, which received a grant of R50,000. Thabo Mokoena, a representative of the organisation, said the funding will help it continue its sports and technology youth development programmes: “We are very happy we have received the funding as now we can buy more equipment.”

Earlier this year, the trust was reconstituted in order to administer public benefit activities on behalf of the World Heritage Site. It is made up of representatives from the COH WHS; the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); the Department of Tourism; the Department of Arts and Culture; the Department of Science and Technology; and the West Rand District Municipality.

Get educated and create jobs

Speaking at the event, the executive Mayor of the West Rand District Municipality, Councillor Mpho Nawa, pointed to two important mandates passed down from the government: get educated and create jobs. He also added that partnerships are key to making initiatives like the trust a success. “We need to build a progressive and prosperous country, but we can’t do this if we don’t mobilise together,” he said.

So far the trust has established two committees: the community benefits committee and the scientific advisory committee. Both committees are tasked with two different objectives, one focusing on people and the other on scientific advancement. An announcement was made at the event that the trust is inviting proposals from science researchers who are working in the Cradle of Humankind.

Speaking on behalf of the Cradle of Humankind Trust committee, Wits deputy vice-chancellor for partnerships and advancement, Professor Rob Moore, said that the world is facing the challenge of a bewildering pace of advancement of new technology, and that technology isn’t neutral as it has many social effects. “We need a dual focus on science and society and this is the balance that the trust is trying to strike. The Cradle is not just a site for scientific development.”

Between the keynote addresses, local arts group The Fully Human Stage performed a praise song for Mogale City. This group received a grant of R100,000 from the trust.

Guests were also entertainingly informed about the history of the Cradle of Humankind with a performance of The Missing Link by Science Arts Performance, a theatre group made up of former Wits students.

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