ST JAMES Junior School for Girls and Boys is appealing to the community to support its Readathon.
St James is a primary school in Durban, founded in 2007 to provide an alternative to state education which is failing the majority of children in South Africa, particularly those from poorer backgrounds.
The school exists to serve these forgotten communities, where parents desperately want their children to have a good education but are held back from aspiration by financial constraints.
“St James is also a non-profit school and the parents only pay a portion of the fees while the rest of the money is substituted by sponsors locally and abroad. For most of the parents this is a huge sacrifice, which they work extremely hard to meet,” said Lisa Welthagen, school headmistress.
The school is appealing for support for its Readathon which is held for two weeks in June every year.
The school encourages the children in the school to read as many books as possible.
Lisa said the aim of the Readathon is to build literacy awareness among the children and get them to read good quality and inspiring books.
“St James School is a NPO and our children do not have access to good books, and buying books is not an option for the school as funds are short. We are raising funds to build up our own school library and computer centre for our children. During the Readathon, we get the children to get sponsors from family and friends and we offer the children incentives,” she said.
The school is appealing for assistance from the community with any prizes, vouchers or hampers for the Readathon.
A once off donation towards books and promoting literacy in the school would also be appreciated.
Contact email: headmistress.stjames@gmail.com or office.stjames@gmail.com.
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