The history of our bursary fund

By Gwynne Robins

According to Maimonides (1138–1204), the highest form of tzedakah was supporting people so that they would not have to be dependent on others. This is what the bursary fund of the Cape SAJBD does by enabling students to get a tertiary education.

There is a problem. Twenty years ago, a university course cost R6000, and today it can cost between R60 000 and R120 000 and the existing bursary funds have to stretch further and further each year as the costs of tertiary education and the number of applicants grows.

Once upon a time bursaries were awarded by several different organisations which had received bequests or donations, like the SAJBD, country communities, the Union of Jewish Women, the Bnoth Zion Association, the Jewish Board of Guardians. Some bursaries came with conditions — the donor wanted the bursary to go to an orphan, to a woman, to someone who wanted to teach Hebrew, to a medical student.

When Joe Fintz, as Board’s treasurer, took over the administration of the Board’s bursaries in the 1990s, he realised that it would be more efficient to have the bursaries controlled by one body. It would be easier to find an applicant to fit a specific qualification if the net were to be spread wider and more interest could be raised by pooling the bursary funds.

The organisations agreed, and the Cape SAJBD’s BOD Bursary Committee came into being, incorporating people with many specific skills — law, accountancy, IT, and a representative from the Herzlia remissions committee (in addition to those with empathy combined with chesed and tzedakah).

In 2002, Simon Brodovcky mentioned to Eliot Osrin that he had learnt that the bursary funds were earning little interest as they had been invested in fixed deposits. Simon felt passionate about assisting the bursary cause because of the financial challenges he had faced when he was young and studying.

Once properly invested by Simon, the value of the bursary funds soared and began to attract capital donations from generous donors and estates, like Pasvolsky, Ben Yehuda, Raphaely, Link SA and the original Jewish Museum.

Lester Hoffman is the current chairperson of the BOD Bursary Committee, which oversees the award of bursaries. The policy is to provide financial assistance to verified needy families to assist those students to find gainful employment. Eligibility is limited to students who are established residents of the Western Cape for study in the Western Cape. These must be for tertiary education at local recognised academic institutions. Each case is examined on its merits and the students are required to provide midyear and end of the year results.

Last year, the Bursary Committee awarded bursaries amounting to R2 101 500 to 73 students, of which 22 were new applications, 14 were renewals and 37 were postgraduates.

Historically, Jews have always placed a high value on learning. In times of persecution, education was one thing they could always take with them and it was the emphasis on education that enabled Jews to achieve success beyond the poverty of their immigrant parents.

The Pew Research Centre has established that Jews are the most highly educated of the world’s major religious groups. In South Africa, Jews average 12 years of schooling and 29% have post-secondary degrees, compared with an average of 7.2 years of schooling and 3% with higher education among non-Jewish South Africans.

This year, the financial effect on our community of COVID-19 means that many more families will find it difficult to afford tertiary education for their matriculants. With the increased demand for bursaries and the increased costs of tertiary education, the income generated from capital from the combined bursary funds is currently inadequate to serve the communal needs.

For more information on how to get involved with the Bursary Foundation, contact Gwynne Robins at
sajbd1@ctjc.co.za

Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies website: www.capesajbd.org, Instagram, and Facebook page.

• Published in the print edition of the May 2021 issue. Download the May 2021 issue PDF here.

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