LERATO Education Centre, which is situated in Jackson’s Informal Settlement, recently had a visit from staff members of Mall of the South.
Bearing gifts of stationery, they were welcomed with open arms by school principal Amanda Lebopo and Sister Helen.
“This is marvellous and will go a long way in assisting our learners,” they said.
The boxes of stationery were full to the brim with sketch pads, colouring-in books, crayons, pens, pencils and rulers – in fact everything a learner needs to equip them for their school days.
Lauren Pretorius, Fazlin Sasman and Mpho Mathole are part of the Concierge Team from Mall of the South and took it upon themselves to create awareness of the school by having stations within the mall where customers could donate stationery items to the good cause.
“We would really like to thank all our customers and everyone who donated and went the extra mile to make sure we collected lots of stationery to give to the school; it was wonderful to see the boxes filling up as the weeks went by,” said Lauren Pretorius.
Lerato Education Centre began 16 years ago, with 16 children, and was founded by Sister Mary.
Since then the school has grown in leaps and bounds with help from community members and corporates. It now has 492 children in the school ranging from Grade R to junior classes.
“We play such an important role in the children’s lives here in Jackson’s Informal Settlement and each and every child receives a good education as well as a cooked breakfast daily and lunch.
It’s heart-warming to see how they love coming to school. They even want to come when it’s school holidays,” said Sister Helen.
As more community members and corporate companies come on board, so principal Lebopo and Sister Helen say the school can grow even more.
“We are in the process of registering our school and, as soon as we get the green light, we will be able to apply for a subsidy. Exciting times ahead for sure,” they both agreed.
