Hawk Academy appreciates charitable deeds

Abcon GroupFoundation, a non-profit organisation from Abland extends the spirit of giving even after the holidays.

January 25, 2018

Kgotsofalang Mashilo 3 minutes read

Hawk Academy Primary and High School children welcoming Abcon Group Foundation and Huddle-Up to their school.

How many times have we heard the phrase,‘Charity begins at home’?

Built on the premises of Abland, a property development company, Hawk Academy was glad to see Abland sticking to their understanding of the phrase last Friday when their non-profit organisation Abcon Group Foundation, and Huddle-Up donated stationery packs to the school.

Hawk Academy was founded in 2016 by Agnes Mkhonto (deputy principal) and her husband pastor Sipho Michael Mkhonto (principal) after they saw a need to build a school in the community where they have a church, namely the ‘Door of Hope Family Church’.

Throughout their journey, they have partnered with various companies. Their relationship with Abland is most notable.

Within Abland, there is a non-profit organisation called Abcon Group Foundation (AGF).

AGF partnered with Huddle-Up and, together, the two companies have vowed to assist the school in meeting its minimum requirements.

“Abland introduced Abcon Group Foundation to us in 2017.

“They are always assisting the school. They meet all our needs and we are very grateful,” said Agnes.

Agnes Mkhonto, founder of Hawk Academy, addressing her school and welcoming Abcon and Huddle-Up to the school.

Over the years they have taken some of the grades to the zoo, donated grass for a playing area, painted the school, and last year, on Mandela Day, they hired a graffiti artist to come do some inspiring graffiti on one of the school walls.

After the Christmas cheer and festivities, we all know that for many families, January is a tough month. With that in mind, AGF and Huddle-Up donated stationery packs and toiletries to the entire school of over 800 learners.

“As Huddle-Up, our partnership with Abcon requires us to always be on the ground to source what is needed by Hawk Academy.

“Whether it’s partaking in the Mandela Day initiatives or helping with grass donations or painting the school, we are always on the ground.

“It feels good to be able to do so,” said Kirst Ritchie of Huddle-Up.

Present on the day was Bradley Bentz from Abland. He took the GCN on a tour of the school and showed us the colourful graffiti they chose to do last year on Mandela Day.

“We thought that if the children got to school and the first thing they saw was this colourful wall, it would brighten up their morning and put them in a better mood for the rest of the day,” he explained.

“In 2018, we hope to have more partnerships like this as there are other things we at Abland want to build with the school. However, I cannot disclose those plans as yet.”

It was all smiles when the school bell rang and the children were called to the assembly area to come and collect their gift bags.

The learners welcomed AGF and Huddle-Up and thanked them for their donation.

“It is always easy to volunteer your time when it’s for such a cause.

“Seeing these children with bright genuine smiles, happy to be receiving toiletries, stationery and snacks, reminds me of how many things we take for granted every day whereas they are most grateful for those things,” said Londiwe Mthebu of Abcon Group Foundation.

Agnes Mkhonto, co-founder and deputy principal of Hawk Academy Primary and High School giving one of the learners their gift bag.

“Our school is going to grow big with the group.

“When we started in 2016, we had 456 learners. Last year we had 768, this year we are over 800 learners and parents are still flocking in to register their children.

“We will have the final stats as soon as registrations are over,” Agnes said.

“Most of our learners come from the surrounding informal settlements. We aim to give them the best education and hope to get the best results this year.

“We also say thank you to Abcon Group Foundation once again for their gifts,” she added.