Military sets up fund to educate children of soldiers killed or hurt

A MULTIMILLION-rand fund has been set up as an educational support for the children of slain South African soldiers.

The South African National Defence Force provided an initial R5-million, paid mainly by sponsors, to help to educate children whose parents had been killed or badly hurt while serving in the armed forces.

The SANDF Education Trust is the brainchild of defence force chief General Solly Shoke. It was founded following the deaths of 15 South African soldiers in Bangui in the Central African Republic in March last year.

The fund began operating in October last year and so far 12 primary school and 16 high school pupils have received bursaries. Another five students wanting to study at tertiary institutions are also being supported.

So far, R5.2-million has been paid to the fund by 17 sponsors, including soccer clubs Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, Transnet and the Jacob Zuma Foundation.

Major-General Roy Andersen, who has overseen the creation of the trust, said although the fund was set up

The two aircraft crashes claimed the lives of 16 military personnel

after the Battle of Bangui, the children of soldiers who had been killed or badly hurt since April 27 1994 would qualify to apply for bursaries.

So far, he said, between 60% and 70% of the beneficiaries were children of soldiers killed in aircraft crashes in the Drakensberg and the Kruger National Park, as well as in Bangui.

The Drakensberg plane crash in December 2012 and the helicopter accident in the game reserve in April 2013 claimed the lives of 16 military personnel in total.

“Most of the soldiers killed in Bangui were still young, so there was a limited number of dependants,” said Andersen.

The maximum the fund will pay for primary school children is R8 000 a year, R12 000 for high school pupils and R45 000 for those studying at tertiary institutions.

Applicants have to reapply for funding every year.

Andersen said the challenge was to “continue raising funds to ensure future bursaries are paid out of revenue and not the capital, so that the trust is sustainable”.

The military was unable to say how many families had been affected by the deaths of soldiers since 1994.

Application details are available at rfdiv.mil.za