Terrence Klassen, principal of Fairmount High School, in Grassy Park, has been awarded the Are Hovstad award.
Jarl Are Hovstad was a founder board member of MOT SA and was knighted by King Harald of Norway, for his work in education and health on the Cape Flats. He was also awarded Western Cape Provincial Honours in the form of The Order of the Disa.
MOT is a comprehensive, global life-skills programme aimed at strengthening the youth’s awareness and courage.
Mr Klassen was nominated by the 2021 Are Hovstad winner, Darren Maybe who believed that Mr Klassen was the perfect fit for this prestigious award as he epitomised the MOT Values, which is courage to live, courage to care and courage to say no.
Jacqueline Carolus, office and social media administrator from MOT SA, said the Are Hovstad award was given as the first of its kind at their MOT annual general meeting and awards ceremony in 2019.
In tribute to his legacy, the MOT SA Board decided to award a MOT associate who “whole-heartedly displayed similar characteristics of our beloved Are Hovstad,” said Ms Carolus.
At the event, Wenche Hovstad, wife of Are Hovstad, said: “The award was established to honour him and to keep the ethos and spirit of MOT and the values he has alive”.
In Mr Maybe’s nomination form, he wrote that Mr Klassen, “is an inspiration to me and so many young people at Fairmount as well as the surrounding community members and parents. He believes in a second chance. Those young people that other teachers and parents gave up on, he always goes the extra mile to motivate them and encourage them to become better and bigger than their circumstances, to not give up and push through their adversaries. He is a true inspiration and a big role model to all and I am proud to nominate him.”
Mr Klassen was surprised when he received the award. “Over the moon, honoured and totally unexpected, as I knew the great humanitarian Mr Are Hovstad was and the difference he made in the lives of so many of the learners and their families in Parkwood, Lotus River and Zeekoevlei Primary and high schools through the Norwegian/ Wynberg Rotary Bursaries as well as his passion for inculcating value to the youth at the colleges namely, College of Cape Town, False Bay and Northlink.”
MOT works to nurture robust and resilient people with a special focus on youth by providing them with tools to strengthen their leadership and courage.
For more information, visit www.mot.org.za
