On 23 May, this year’s Annual General Meeting of the Tsibogang Christian Action Group took place. We Hermanns had only just returned from a one-month stay in Polokwane, where we supported the family of our daughter Linda after the birth of her second son.
At 9:30 a.m., the official starting time, fewer than ten people had arrived. It was only around 11 a.m. that the meeting could begin, and over the course of the session a total of 101 members gathered. With 118 registered members, this is an astonishingly good level of participation!
Undine, the secretary of the organization, opened the meeting with a devotion based on Isaiah 40, 30 –31: “Young men grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” There are many things in our work that can make us tired and discouraged, but God gives us new strength when we ask Him for it.
Since the Chair lady, Kegomoditswe Mosai, could not attend due to her duties at the clinic, Thelma Monageng chaired the meeting in her role as Deputy Chairperson and did so very well. Efficiently but without haste, she invited the chairpersons of the four action groups and their representatives to present their annual reports for the past financial year (April 2025 – March 2026) and their plans for the coming financial year.
After that, Project Manager Anne Mosing presented the management’s summary report. Highlights included the strong cooperation among the project managers, the Tshepanang workshop in October —where 69 peer educators were introduced to 22 new lessons on self-esteem, sexuality, and HIV prevention — and the excellent results of the after-school teachers, who made 178 out of 242 children competent in reading.
Project Manager Kadimo Maleke presented small gifts to the outgoing Tshepanang committee members as a token of appreciation for their many years of service, as a new committee had already been elected at the last Tshepanang meeting.
Then I presented — hopefully for the last time — the financial report for the past year. Tsibogang made it through the financial year with income of 4.45 million Rand and expenses of 4.37 million Rand, resulting in a small surplus. I highlighted the contributions of the seven donor organizations, of which the “Förderkreis” provided by far the largest amount, at 2.267 million Rand.
This was followed by the audit report. For the 23rd time, an independent, state-certified auditor granted us a “clean audit.” Together with our external consultant Daniel Khula, I had managed beforehand to correct numerous accounting errors made by our former financial manager, Dineo. It was also crucial that she ultimately repaid the funds she had misappropriated. Only 16% of municipal administrations in South Africa (41 out of 257) achieved a “clean audit” even for a single year last year.
Next, our new Financial Manager, Khumoetsile Nyembe, presented the budget for the newly begun financial year. She did so with impressively confident professionalism. Just last week, after almost a year of uncertainty, we received the news that the National Lottery Commission had approved our large application. As a result, 1.7 million Rand is available for this financial year. Instead of reducing the budget, we were able to increase it in recent days! The main beneficiaries are the home care givers, whose minimal compensation can now be increased from R400 (about 20 Euros) to R1000 (about 50 Euros). All other staff members will also benefit.
Finally, I presented the proposed amendments to the constitution. These became necessary because, after a long application process, Tsibogang was finally recognized as a Public Benefit Organization in November 2025. This means that local donor organizations can now deduct their donations from taxes. As expected, all members present unanimously approved the amendments.
With that, the Annual General Meeting finally came to an end. With flying colours, the Tsibogang Christian Action Group and its new management team have passed this milestone!
Wolfgang Hermann