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#TogetherWeBuild for a free, safe and prosperous future
Solidarity believes that knowledge is the best way to protect our community. You belong here and that’s why Solidarity is building knowledge institutions to empower the next generation and ensure a free, safe and prosperous future. Build for your children; build for a future. Read more about how you can build with Solidarity.
By Kyla-Ann du Toit
Read more about:
- Solidaritity
- Sol-Tech
- Akademia
- Bo-Karoo Opleiding
- Solidariteit Helpende Hand Opleidingsinstituut
- Solidarity Support Centre for Schools
“When we doubt the future, we build it.” These are the words of Dr Dirk Hermann, chief executive of Solidarity – and this is exactly what Solidarity is doing, because we believe you belong here.
History has shown that a future is always possible. Just like our ancestors, ordinary people driven by extraordinary circumstances, we can start small and build extraordinary miracles. Solidarity believes that knowledge is the best way to protect our community in an uncertain economy. “We do not burn and break; we build and protect. We do not wait for the government to solve our problems; we do it ourselves,” says Flip Buys, Chairperson of the Solidarity Movement.
Solidarity
We have a responsibility to ensure a successful future for our children, which is why Solidarity’s Building Fund was established. The Building Fund enables Solidarity to build institutions, particularly knowledge institutions such as Sol-Tech, Akademia, Bo-Karoo Opleiding and Gimnasium Pretoria. In this way, young people get the opportunity to acquire the knowledge they need to prosper as a minority group in a majority society.
Thanks to the Building Fund, various institutions of the Solidarity Movement can contribute to the future of the Afrikaans community and especially of young people.
Sol-Tech
Sol-Tech is a private vocational training college that is constantly expanding. “The yardstick by which Sol-Tech’s building efforts is measured is not only by higher student numbers or an extensive programme offering, but rather by excellence – to make students employable through excellence to create a better future for our young people and those who come after them,” says Chantal Swart, marketing manager of Sol-Tech.
In 2025, Sol-Tech will specifically focus on fully utilising the capacity created in 2024 “Sol-Tech is busy with exciting projects. It has already commissioned and finalised the Sol-Tech Bridge over the busy Solomon Mahlangu Drive and added a concrete level in a workshop to increase capacity for training millwrights and mechatronic technicians.
Akademia
Akademia, a Christian and independent higher education institution based on the classical university tradition, emerging from and for Afrikaans language and cultural communities. In 2025, this institution is building on the momentum of the previous year to strengthen its ideal of classical education. Marthinus Visser, managing director of Akademia, emphasises the institution’s pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty through academic excellence and serving the community. “This pursuit of serving reflects the institution’s nature and essence as a responsible steward with a view to a free future,” says Visser.
Significant progress was made in 2024 with academic expansion, the establishment of new traditions in student life, and an increase in staff and student numbers. Highlights for 2025 include the following: the launch of new academic programmes, the #Afrikaans100 campaign, a record number of more than 500 students expected to obtain their qualification this year, and approximately 3 800 students who are expected to study full-time on Akademia’s campus and after-hours via the distance learning model.
Further developments include a satellite campus in the Western Cape, a strengthened network of alumni and the Future Builder Campaign’s progress made with capital and infrastructure development. Akademia’s student life is also thriving, with a record number of first-year students attending this year’s first-year camp. The institution’s Christian foundation is further expressed through chapel services and faith conversations, a mentorship programme, the Great Books Programme and a growing staff corps that contribute to making Akademia an academic and cultural home for Afrikaans.
“We are excited about the possibilities that await us in the new year and as a dedicated Afrikaans study centre, Akademia is ready to be of service to the community by offering continued excellence,” says Visser.
Bo-Karoo Opleiding
Bo-Karoo Opleiding (BKO) is a training institution in Orania that focuses on construction industry and agricultural training, where young people are shaped to enter the labour market as vocation-driven adults – firmly grounded in faith and culture.
Building, fostering and developing – this is what BKO will focus on in 2025. BKO will continue to enhance its construction training by adapting the model within the vocational qualification framework, allowing students to practise both theoretical and practical skills before gaining work experience. The “cultivation” in the Agriculture department includes additional staff and the expansion of the Leer-My-Hoe-proefplaas, while student life is further developed with extra accommodation, sports, cultural activities and general support.
According to Paul Vogel, chief executive of Bo-Karoo Opleiding, the institution aims to fully equip its students for the workplace, expand its programme offering and further enhance student life. “We want to recruit even more students to make a greater impact on society and our community,” says Vogel.
Solidarity Helping Hand Opleidingsinstituut (Training Institute)
“At the training institute of Solidarity Helping Hand we build on dreams – a student’s dream to realise his or her calling, the dream of an elderly person to be cared for with dignity, and the dream of a community where we care for one another with compassion,” says Delmei Delport, marketing manager of Helping Hand’s training institute.
This training institute not only builds skills but is also building a community and a future. They train home carers to care for the elderly, babies, toddlers and people with disabilities with love and compassion. “In 2025, we will further expand our training to offer even more people the opportunity to make a difference – not only in their own life but also in the lives of the most vulnerable,” says Delport.
According to Delport, there is an urgent need for qualified home carers in South Africa. “Too many people need care, but too few are trained to provide it with the necessary respect, dignity and expertise. That is why we are equipping every student with world-class training and a deep understanding of their calling and value,” she says.
Solidarity Support Centre for Schools
The Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS) works to ensure the future of Christian Afrikaans education by maintaining existing high-quality education and, where necessary, establishing new ones.