Annual Report 2018

“Education is for improving the lives of others and for

leaving your community and world better than you found it.” Marian Wright Edelman

Download the full report in PDF format here

Vula Annual Report 2018 Teachers

VULA Annual Report 2018

We are immensely proud of the work done by VULA@Hilton and pay tribute to the amazing men and women who work here and who drive this venture, to those who participate and come to learn, to the generous patrons who support and sponsor the initiative and to those people who encourage, assist and motivate, and enable the work to be done. We are grateful to you all, the Champions of VULA@Hilton!

This 2018 Annual Report provides comprehensive information, feedback from the year’s remarkable efforts and details of the many highlights and the significant achievements of the VULA@Hilton programme.

Now in its third year, the VULA Lodge - Victor Daitz House continues to provide on-site accommodation for the teachers from community schools in KwaZulu-Natal who come to Hilton College to attend the VULA Mathematics Academy (VuMA) for a term at a time.

This means that teachers live on the Hilton College campus for up to eleven weeks and share the facilities, with access to and participation in the common areas for dining, sports, library, chapel, and so on, and are included in various school activities.

The Lodge has taken VULA@Hilton to another level of activity and is proving to be an exceptional extension to the offering and thus to the contribution that can be generated in this space.

“Education is the movement from darkness to light.” Allan Bloom

We watch teachers arriving at VULA@Hilton who are somewhat uncertain, insecure in themselves, lacking confidence in their knowledge and unsure of their abilities; during the term spent with us, they become learners again, totally submerged in the subject as they are advised, instructed, and guided by our dedicated teachers; they are exposed to innovative ways of educating in a bespoke learning environment, able to use computers and white-boards, to understand the subject matter and the process, and to become re-skilled and re-trained in Mathematics.

These teachers undergo a life changing experience; they

return to their schools renewed, invigorated, enabled and empowered. They are able to make a difference in the lives of their students, to make a difference in the lives of their communities, and so thousands of people are reached. Please watch the video on our website www.hiltonvula.com for a first-hand account from one of the teachers, Ms Nosisa Sosibo.

It is the pebble thrown into the pond that creates the ripples that extend far and wide. So too the benefits and the effects of this programme in reaching under resourced schools and disadvantaged communities and for meaningfully providing interventions and social development in education.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Kofi Annan

Vula Annual Report 2018 Collage
Vula Annual Report 2018 Collage

Social development means people are at the centre of development, and it is people who should benefit. Active social responsibility should directly advance social goals and meet social needs, engage with the community and address issues that affect human beings, and aim for an inclusive society in which all can secure the prerequisites for well-being, plan and achieve life goals and contribute to the economy and society.

The ethical framework suggests that we have an obligation to act for the benefi t of society in general, and in order to maintain the balance between the economy and the welfare of society; in reality, if everyone does something to make a difference, each in our own way, it is these single grains of sand that accumulate to build the beach.

The responsibility lies with all of us. We remain responsible for our own future, and yet we are also responsible for the futures of those around us:

With the privilege of circumstance and planning

With the benefi t of education and learning

With the assumption of leadership and infl uence

With the understanding of obligation and necessity

With the advantage of experience and ability

With the expectation of success and prosperity ...

...comes the commitment to make that difference.

Central to educating young minds at Hilton College is the cultivation of emotional intelligence skills, through developing social awareness and empathy, through acknowledging the ethical standpoint and through embracing the concept of social responsibility.

One of the key objectives is to develop in the boys the practice of “Global Citizenship”, and “to cultivate responsible Hiltonians who can protect our future environments and communities ... living a meaningful and purposeful life.” In conclusion I would like to congratulate our VULA@Hilton Champions and urge you all to continue with the good work and in building that beach!

Dale ten Hope

Chair: Community Projects Committee

The Hiltonian Society NPC

Vula Annual Report 2018 Collage

Download the full report in PDF format here