Barberton
Barberton Project
Following extensive research in 2007 and 2008, Tenteleni was proud to pilot a new project in Barberton, South Africa, in 2009. This is the charity’s first new project since 2004. The four lucky volunteers to go to Barberton next year will be responsible for continuing to forge links with the local community and will therefore have a unique opportunity to mould the project for years to come. The Barberton project will involve four volunteers and one Project Coordinator (PC) assisting in two primary schools in the town of Barberton. All five will be accommodated by educators from the two schools.
About Barberton
Barberton is in the same province as Tenteleni’s other four South Africa Projects but is at least an hour’s drive away from any of them. It is 45 km south of Nelspruit, the provincial capital of Mpumalanga, and is also within easy reach of Nelspruit (45km north), the Kruger National Park, and Swaziland.
Barberton has a population of approximately 29,500. It dates to the gold rush days of the late 19th century, when it was a boomtown and home to South Africa’s first stock exchange. However, most miners soon moved on to the newly discovered Rand fields near Johannesburg, and Barberton’s prominence declined. All working gold mines in the region are now over 100 years old.
Barberton is considered significantly safer than the other areas
in which Tenteleni works, and this is part of the reason the
charity has decided to accommodate volunteers with educators in the
community. The area is also more ethnically diverse, with people of
white, black and Indian origin all living in close proximity to
each other.