Multinational mining company Glencore last month announced it was making funding of R2.76-million available for the LaunchPad video mentoring facility for learners in the Phola community of Mpumalanga.

Glencore is working with global mentoring organisation Infinite Family to create this facility, and the partnership aims to bridge the technological, geographical and cultural gap between teenagers in Phola and the technologically driven twenty-first century society.

The mentoring facility is created from renovated shipping containers and includes 2 Mb of Internet connection and a battery backup system. This will benefit learners from Mehlwana Secondary School and other schools in the area.

Learners in the surrounding areas will be able to get homework assistance, access health and medical resources, research possible career paths and “discover” which further education courses are suitable for them. This is achieved through weekly face-to-face video mentoring sessions via the Internet.

In February this year, the first class of 30 mentees (‘Net Buddies’) were connected with their global video mentors, who are based in the US and in Canada.

During the course of the year, Glencore and the Infinite Family plan to add more Net Buddy classes in order for more teenagers to benefit from the global video mentorship.

Working with their mentors on a one-on-one video monitoring session, the Net Buddies will focus on developing their technological literacy, career preparation, communications and life skills.

“This initiative is a breakthrough in education as it gives pupils from previously disadvantaged communities an opportunity to be mentored by experts from across a wide range of disciplines,” says Glencore group executive Clinton Ephron.

He adds that Glencore is proud to participate in this initiative and believes that education can make a significant contribution to improving the lives of young South Africans and prepare them for the future.

“We believe that Glencore’s global presence and economic strength have a predominantly positive impact on the communities in which it operates,” notes Ephron.

Infinite Family CEO Amy Stokes says that, together with Mehlwana Secondary School and Glencore, Infinite Family is seeing learners doing research, exploring careers and learning about tertiary education requirements.