No more walking to sports games for Gordon pupils

Gordon Primary School’s sports teams will no longer have to walk long distances to honour their games.

This follows the delivery of a brand-new R450 000 Nissan Impendulo NV350 bus to the school at a ceremony on 5 May which was attended by various executives of the donors, Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Unilever is a foods and detergent manufacturing company which has been in South Africa for more than 120 years.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Alex News just before the handover, Kelvin-based Unilever South Africa chief executive officer, Peter Cowan, said the bus donation to the school was inspired by a presentation from the school authorities to Unilever during a hygienic activation with their Lifebuoy brand.

“We then took this to be a challenge to us and we were determined to come back and fulfill the wish of the school and ease their transport woes and also contribute towards creating a learning environment where the pupils have just one thing to worry about which is nourishing their minds and unlocking their potential,” he said.

“The bus is a small token of our appreciation for the hard work and efforts that the principal, the governing body and the community have put into making sure that this school is one where we nurture the country’s future.”

Deputy principal of the school, Dipuo Swelenkomo, said the bus will go a long way towards alleviating their transport problems whenever they have to undertake excursions and visiting sports meets. “We often have to walk to honour sporting activities with other schools in Alex or hire transport for longer distances and this tends to eat a big chunk out of our budget – though petrol will from now on, but it’s better for the safety of our pupils.”

Gordon Primary school had struck an understanding with Fairways Primary School in Corlett Drive, Sandton, for their 1 400 pupils to use the sporting facilities there, and Swelenkomo said the bus would come in handy for this.