Motsepe Foundation gives back to schools in Mpumalanga

The Mpumalanga Department of Education (DoE) received a much-needed donation of R320 000 from the Motsepe Foundation on Monday November 14. The handover ceremony was held at the Alliance Church KaNyamazane.

According to the department, it is grateful for the donation that is going towards nine schools in the City of Mbombela: Guduza, Thembeka, Stintile, Sdungeni, Sibusisiwe and Tikhontele secondary schools, and Masitakhe, Vulamasango and Sboshwa primary schools.

During the handover, Dr Patrice Motsepe said education is the greatest pillar of societal and community development. He said when he was growing up, his parents told him that as a family they have no future unless the living conditions and opportunities of those less privileged in their communities were to improve.

The Motsepe Foundation has donated some developmental funding to a total of 523 beneficiaries, comprising of 172 secondary school, 111 primary schools and 240 churches nationally.

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Motsepe said he is what he is because of the values they were taught when he was still in school. “We have a duty towards the communities from which we come and the ones in the country, because they have made us who we are. South Africa is not the only one going through difficult times, the whole world is experiencing economic difficulties and unemployment.

“Even those people among us who do have jobs, find that food and goods are becoming expensive and unaffordable. It is during these times that we should come together and pray, and ask for God’s guidance and blessing.”

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In a speech by the MEC for education, Bonakele Majuba, the department’s director for strategic planning, David Mthembu, said, “The foundation’s concept of ubuntu is indeed extending the glorious generosity of our community. This resonates very well with the African culture and expresses the core value of humanity and goodness to our fellow man.

“We are grateful as the people of the Place of the Rising Sun to be associated with the Motsepe Foundation today, and to be the beneficiaries of their benevolence. It teaches us lessons of the significance of ploughing and giving back, which constitutes an integral part of our moral duty and collective responsibility.”