Meet Lucky Vutlhari Maluleke, the Coordinator at the BCC Education Centre set up by the BCC Charity Trust. We certainly got lucky when he joined our team. This is his story, how he got from Limpopo to becoming one of the shining stars of our Education Centre. Lucky was born in Limpopo, the oldest of six children. His home language is Xitsonga. He attended Nwanata High School and he says he was an average student who had to work hard to do well, walking five kilometres there and back every day. Matric was challenging; his family was poor, and his father left them during his final year to start a new family. He lived hand to mouth during this time - a friend used to share his pencil or a bar of soap or the bottom of a toothpaste tube with him.
After passing matric he came to live in the BCC compound with his father who was a groundsman. He worked as a caddy to earn money and in 2011 started a BA in Political Science at the University of Johannesburg but had to give up after the first year because there were no finances. In 2012 he became a full-time caddy and then the following year got into the University of Venda to do a BA in Development Studies. In 2013 however, tragedy struck when his younger brother was killed in a car accident, which devastated the whole family. Lucky realised he had to be the man of the family, and worked even harder, completing his degree in three years.
After graduating in 2016, he had dreams of becoming a community developer, which was his major. He stayed in the compound with his father and caddied full time while looking for a job. The money he earned went to putting together his CV and for transport to interviews. He was soon promoted to course marshal by BCC, although they told him he was over-qualified.
In 2018 Lucky applied to do a post graduate certificate in education at Unisa. He was accepted but didn’t have the money to do the course. However, his dream to do community development did not die and he started volunteering for the Live Tree Community Centre on Mondays. In 2019 he was awarded a bursary by the BCC Charity Trust, so he was now able to start his post graduate certificate in education. In the same year he got his second big break – a role as Coordinator at the Education Centre set up by the BCC Charity Trust.
The Education Centre started in a small house on the club’s property which used to be for storage. Most of the staff didn’t know about it, so Lucky started talking about the Centre with everyone to raise awareness. Seven computers had been donated, and one of the first tasks was to set up every staff member with a Google email account so that their payslips could be emailed to them. Staff were encouraged to use the computers for printing, to make copies of their CVs, and to do online courses.
In addition to computer facilities, the other big part of the Centre’s work was literacy. Troye Terblanche was taken on to teach reading and writing literacy to staff members, and is now pretty much full time, with a focus on English development. The BCC Charity Trust offers education bursaries to staff members and their immediate families, but for many there is a lack of understanding and knowledge of what is required. The Education Centre now publicises what is available and helps with the applications, with Lucky and Troye on hand, fulfilling an invaluable role.
The Centre had to close in March 2019 because of COVID-19, but officially re-opened in September 2021. In the same year, Lucky completed his PGCE studies at UNISA and passed with distinction. This year, Lucky and Troye gave three presentations to the BCC staff to tell them about the BCC Charity Trust, what the Centre offers and encourage them to use the facilities. The Education Centre has also moved to a bigger premises and now has 18 computers and a separate wellness room with comfortable sofas and chairs for staff members to take time out in a private space.
Today, the Centre is there for applications for bursaries, and for conducting initial interviews to establish suitability before staff do their more formal interviews for the Trust. It helps with applications to university, and further education for children of staff whose children are completing matric. There are also six staff members who are re-writing their own matric. It helps with training courses and finds mentors to assist those staff who are doing studies. It’s about all the little things too - for example, while studying, staff are helped with the issues of requesting time off, and letters of registration.
Perhaps one of the most important services the Centre offers is psychological support. When staff come in to discuss registrations and applications, they often have difficult stories to tell, and are going through hard times. People need more than just help with bursaries and applications and skills. They sometimes need counselling. Fortunately, the Centre has received assistance from Kaye Mcllwaine who is a qualified counselor. She was a member at BCC and she now lives in Kinshasa, but is able to help remotely. Lucky himself needs occasional debriefing which he does through Kaye. He would like to study psychology part-time through Unisa to assist him in his role.
Lucky sees the Education Centre as becoming a place where someone walks in and comes out a changed person. Not only will they be empowered to find solutions but will be offered advice and support. The successes are already incredible, and we are excited about the future growth of the Centre.
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