Welcome to our new look website and fresh brand identity! Here, you will learn about our programme, its people and its stories. In our 8th year of existence, The Learning Trust continues to embrace learning in our approach to grant-making with a focus on strengthening the capacity of emerging education non-profits. We are continually refining and enhancing our core work of finding and fostering community-based programmes towards the goal of a fortified and thriving After School sector.
This year, The Learning Trust has assumed an emerging role in advocating for After School activities in supporting and keeping children engaged in learning and improving their chances of a productive life. This expanding trajectory for the organisation has seen us embark on a thrilling journey with the arrival of not one but two strong senior hires in the last quarter.
As we bade farewell to our founding Director, Charles Ainslie, we welcomed Dylan Wray, who has an outstanding record of creative leadership in the education sector. In 2005, Dylan founded Shikaya with a focus on teacher development and developing active and democratic young citizens. He brings years of experience in strategic consulting for both the Standard Bank and Andreas Struengmann Foundations. Dylan is also the creator and founder of South Africa’s premier national Education Week and a respected author of the recently published “A school where I belong”. His formative years as a teacher have laid a deep foundation for supporting children and learners in schools.
We were also joined by Sibongile Khumalo as Chief Communications Officer in our Johannesburg office. Sibongile is a dynamic and charismatic leader with over 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector, spent mostly working for a high school scholarship programme and an education systems change organisation. A young leader in her own right, Sibongile has also been involved in youth leadership development and extended education programmes. In 2013, she was named one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 young South Africans in the Education category, and participated in the coveted YALI Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2016.
Dylan and Sibongile will work closely with the current team to maximise the opportunities we see ahead of us, giving The Learning Trust an exciting platform to build upon our past successes and deliver strong impact over the next 5 years. We look forward to walking this journey with you, our valued partner, as we continue to support learning opportunities “Beyond the Classroom”.
Yours in Learning, The Learning Trust Team