The Donald White/Mandla A. Ndwanya Foundation donated educational goods to the Mkhanyiseli Primary School in Nyanga.
More than 30 school pupils will benefit from all the uniforms, shoes and trousers that were donated on Friday March 2.
The school was also in urgent need of a Jojo tank to catch rain water, so the foundation donated one too.
Project co-ordinator Noma Tyhulu said the foundation aimed to inspire and empower young people from the townships by initiating self-development programmes that would increase their self-esteem and leadership capabilities
“We have adopted those Mkhanyiseli pupils who are struggling to have uniforms. We donate uniforms twice a year, at the opening of the year and in mid-term. They have also appealed to us for a
5 000-litre Jojo tank this year which we have donated. This is our first school in the province and we are looking at giving others too.”
She said the aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of the ongoing plight of school children who did not have school shoes.
Pupils and teachers at the school could not contain their excitement when the uniforms were handed out to the pupils who needed them.
Principal of the school, Melusi Dyantyi, said he was happy with the generous donation as most of his pupils came from poor families.
“We are in an area that has a high unemployment rate. We give the uniforms to the most needy. We screen them and speak to their parents before giving them. We are extremely happy.”
Teacher Maxwell Funo added: “This is a wonderful moment. We are now getting not only the uniforms but the Jojo tank too. Had we had our way, we would have about five tanks to keep water. With the drought in the province the tanks would really help us. But we are happy with the one that they bought us. It came at the right time,” he said.
The foundation was established in 2012 to honour Donald White, a career educator in the United States of America and father of American Makoti Takiyah White Ndwanya who was married to Mandla Ndwanya from Nyanga. To honour both men, the White family included Mandla’s legacy to provide support to pupils from his neighborhood in the Nyanga and Gugulethu townships.