Diamonds in the rough

“So did anyone see any ghosts last night?”

I ask the un-askable question at the breakfast table this morning. We all sheepishly agree that it probably wasn’t the best night’s sleep we’d ever had despite the fact that our rooms were delicious and the beds warm. “I woke up, but decided not to open my eyes,” admits Mark, “if there was something there I didn’t want to see it!”

So this morning we're all feeling a bit scratchy but nevertheless looking forward to the day. We have a few hours free before heading to our project M² Coffee Shop, so the plan is to walk about Kimberley’s old mining town and see the groot gat itself, the Big Hole.

For those of you who like me aren’t too familiar with Kimberley’s history, back in the old days in 1871 diamonds were discovered on a featureless, flat-topped hill. Soon thousands of prospectors, armed with nothing but picks, shovels and hope descended on Kimberley and created the largest hand-dug excavation in the world. By the time the mine closed in 1914, it had produced 2722 kgs of diamonds including many of the largest diamonds ever found. Today what remains is a massive crater 214m deep, that has filled with water.

The history of the town and those bygone days of mad, crazed diamond-fever and power struggles for wealth and control are well-captured in the preserved and restored buildings. It really is an experience to wander through shops, step over tram lines, and imagine the noisy saloons and rough miners. All searching and hoping for that one big break, convinced that the next bucket of dirt would yield it…

The Big Hole itself is a site to behold and going on tour underground really gets one to imagine, even if just a glimpse, the dangerous mining of 150 years ago, rock falls, deaths and desperation. Those must have been hectic days! Anyway, after swooning over some of the most beautiful diamond displays I’ve ever seen, we eventually hustled off to find diamonds of another kind.


The worlds largest yellow diamond, The Tiffany Diamond, purchased in 1878 by Tiffany's & Co and now permanently on display with the famous diamond merchants.

Turning into Diamantveld Hoerskool, we meet up with Anne McLean who started the M² or ‘Maths x Music’ Coffee Shop in 2004. Anne has always had a desire to work with underprivileged kids, “it’s like a calling for me, a passion.” she explains. “When I studied at university, I even took isiXhosa lessons because I believed that I’d be teaching in the Transkei. I never saw myself working in privileged surroundings.” Having qualified as a maths teacher and gone onto to become a school principal, Anne always dreamed of starting a project that would unlock the potential of children who were locked in schools that would never realize their potential. 

Today the M² programme supports 240 school-kids (60 each from Grade 9 – 12) from surrounding schools, based on their potential in maths & science, their spirit of commitment and their helpfulness towards other kids. The programme entails weekly lessons and holiday schools. The Old Mutual Foundation is currently funding 60 Grade 10s. Anne tells me how she got connected with us. “One day one of your advisors phoned to sell me a policy. I told him, I don’t want to buy anything from you, just give me the name of someone in Old Mutual who can support this project.” The rest is history as they say. Anne laughs, “I just dream it and God makes it happen.”   

And what impact has the programme had, I ask Anne? She introduces me to two young lads who have especially come here to meet us today. Goodwill and his friend Orapeleng are both from Galeshewe, an impoverished area of Kimberley.  Having graduated from school last year, they both describe how M² changed something for them. Instead of just ‘cruising’ with ordinary marks, M² ignited a love for maths and science and their marks climbed into the upper 70s and higher. In fact, last year Goodwill was the only Grade 12 scholar in Northern Cape to achieve 100% in maths! I look with pride at these polite, well-spoken young men who are now studying Computer Science at Wits. Despite their excellent results life isn’t easy, they’re still battling to get bursaries and their first year at university is proving a tough challenge. 

Goodwill Tshekela (19), M2 graduate and top Maths student for 2010 Northern Cape, achieving 100% pass.

We then go through to ‘your Grade 10s’ as Anne calls the group of children that Old Mutual is funding. They’re busily involved performing chemistry test on local water, as part of the United Nations International Year of Chemistry. I’m reminded of my own schooldays and how I loved getting stuck into the practical experiments, it made the learning so much more fun. Lastly we head off to the school hall, where another class is choreographing a dance routine to loud music. “It’s all part of enjoying learning,” says Anne, “music and maths come from the same part of the brain.” 

Anne amidst a swirl of students

United Nations, International Year of Chemistry water sampling experiments being conducted by Grade 10s. Diamantveld Hoerskool, Kimberley.

Reflections on science

Teacher and mentor, Anne enjoys interacting with all 'her kids'.

As we’re walking along the corridor, a group of students ambles noisily past us. For a moment I catch a glimpse of the headmistress in Anne. “Excuse me,” she says to the group sternly, “where is fast and formal?” The group is immediately chastised into silence and move off at a faster, quieter pace. Oh boy, I’d forgotten about that side of school life!

It’s late afternoon and time to head off, we’ve still got 200km to drive through to our last project in Thaba Nchu. The N12 road is surprisingly heavy with traffic and there’re plenty of Stop/Ry/Go constructions which make our progress slow. But strangely the flat featureless Free State has its own unusual beauty as evening hour approaches…

Ballerinas of the bushveld ...

We eventually get to our hotel in Thaba Nchu after sundown. It’s a massive place (with over 150 rooms) but weirdly silent and empty, it feels like we're the only three people staying here tonight! By now it’s cold and dark and we walk to our rooms down one long corridor after another, it’s eerie and uninhabited. “Sjoe,” I remark to Mark and Tim, “so did either of you ever see the movie The Shining?” The guys groan, “Louise that’s even worse than ghosts!” Oh no, bang goes another night of sleep...




Some more of Mark's funky hipstamic pix...