Jean Cooper
Jean Cooper with his son, Francois
Jean was raised in the Northern suburbs of Pretoria and studied Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of Pretoria. He lived in Sonop Men's Residence while studying, which is where he met De Witt in 1996. Jean did his PhD research on the unconscious dynamics affecting groups and organisations, and currently manages an organisational consultancy and Executive Coaching practice in Pretoria. One of his clients, Direct Transact, through their Foundation, introduced him to the Ezenzeleni Project. Jean has run numerous ultra-marathons. In the picture above he poses with his son, Francois, who is currently in Grade 12 in Pretoria Boys' High. He also has two girls, Rose (16) and Riëtte (14), in Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool in Pretoria. He lives with his wife Fransie in the Moot in Pretoria where they keep three dogs plus a flock of backyard chickens.
De Witt Oosthuizen
De Witt Oosthuizen with his twins, Maggie and Jack
De Witt was raised in Amersfoort, a small town in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa. He studied Medicine at the University of Pretoria in the 90’s while living in Sonop Men's Residence. He is a Medical Doctor working in Emergency with a specialist qualification in Rural and Remote Medicine. De Witt is currently employed as the Clinical Director of Emergency Services at Wangaratta Hospital in regional Victoria, Australia. As a student, De Witt competed in middle and long distance running on a national and international level, but, as you can see from the picture above, he now spends most of his time on (and falling off!) bikes, while raising his 7-year old twins, Maggie and Jack. He lives with his partner, Lindsay, on a small piece of land in Beechworth, Australia. He loves things with engines that go fast - especially riding his motorbike through Alpine and Outback Australia!
Friends since Sonop
Christo, De Witt, JJ, Jean and Neil celebrating our last exam, 1996
Jean and De Witt met each other as first year students in Sonop Men's Residence at the University of Pretoria. Sonop was founded in 1916 and since then many lifelong friendships have been formed there. A key value that we learned in Sonop was to 'byt vas' (hang in there) and make a positive difference in the world. Doing road trips by bicycle to raise funds for charity has been a Sonop tradition since 1966, when the first Drommedaris expedition (two bicycles welded to a 44-gallon drum) raised a total of R2 594,17. Luckily we will be on motorbikes and not bicycles! In the picture above we are celebrating the last day of our suit-wearing first year in Sonop with three of our other best friends, Neil, JJ and Christo. It's been 27 years. A lifetime, which brought us from 19 to 46, the middle of our lives. Lots to think about.
The Direct Transact Foundation's Ezenzeleni Project
Front left and right, Jean Cooper and Elvis Zondi (another Sonop alumnus) are meeting with community leaders at Ezenzeleni.
Direct Transact is a Fintech and BaaS (Banking as a Service) company that was born out of the collapse of Saambou Bank in 2002. Since then, they've continued to build on their can-do-attitude to adversity and today Direct Transact is a well-established leader in its field. The Direct Transact Foundation was the Direct Transact Founders' way of giving back to the community and they run various successful projects, which all have one thing in common: A can-do attitude regardless of the odds. This is what inspired us to join hands with their Ezenzeleni Project. The project kicked off in 2021 and has already installed sixty-five 5000 litre rain water tanks. The Direct Transact Foundation started with the project in the Ezenzeleni township outside the Free State town of Warden, which had no reliable supply of water. Since then the project has expanded to Tweeling, after which it will be rolled out to bordering rural areas within the Free State. This is the perfect example of African community and business leaders working together to make practical plans to improve people's lives.
The Institute for Leadership and Transformation (TILT)
The Institute for Leadership and Transformation (TILT) was founded by Jean in 2014. Inspired by the Tavistock tradition, TILT set out to assist leaders, groups and organisations in South Africa to become aware of and transform the unconscious dynamics affecting their work and well-being. This we do through Executive Coaching and Organisational Culture Change programmes. Expedition H2O is a TILT Leadership Adventures initiative to explore, through adventure, the unknown within ourselves as we track and reflect on the inner journey which always runs hand-in-hand with the more visible, outer journey. The basics of leading and living in Africa. Together. Interconnected. Sustainably.
