MMC for Public Safety, Sello Lemao, visited Dr Mathole Motshekga Primary School on 22 June to hand out 100 pairs of shoes to some of the school’s most disadvantaged children.
“From Grade 1 to 7, I didn’t have shoes,” said Lemao.
“These do not have to be a generation of children that have to suffer like that.”
Lemao said the visit was not only about the distribution of shoes. “As a department, we’ve listened to community members about which are hotspots for crime in the area. We are also aware that there is a drug and crime problem in the area,” he said.
The principal of the school, Thabitha Kulima, said her pupils were facing a lot of challenges. “Many of our pupils come from informal settlements and their parents are unemployed. The teachers identified a few pupils in their classes by asking them questions about their home.”
She said the teachers found that there were pupils who came from child-headed households, some whose parents were immigrants and therefore did not qualify for a child grant and that those who did receive the grant, but their families depended on it for basic needs such as food and rent.
“Even though they live in informal settlements, there are still families that rent, even in these settlements,” she said.
Kulima said the school had regular donors in the form of the Gauteng Social Development Department as well as some parents. “We often ask parents for their children’s old school clothes. If they are intact and don’t fit the child anymore, they can donate them to the school so that they may be given to someone who needs them. The department identifies about 10 to 20 children every year, usually from Grade 1 to buy uniforms for them,” she said.
Kulima said the gift of the shoes meant a great deal to her children, not just because it is winter and they would keep their feet warm. “This will enhance their self-esteem and, I believe, this affects their academic performance positively.”
The children of the school thanked the MMC with song, dance and poetry. Tshegofatso Makola, a Grade 6 pupil, recited a Sotho poem about respecting parents while they are still alive and Lebo Skhosana recited a pledge for peace in the community.
