THE principal of the Greenwood Park Educare Centre, Lee Ellis said she is heartbroken after thieves, in a case of wanton destruction, vandalised and stripped the school bare.
The school, situated on Park Station Road, is both a daycare and a pre-primary. It was on the verge of re-opening when the thieves, over the course of two break-ins, destroyed everything in sight.
“I’m at a loss for words. I can’t explain what has happened. We’re trying to support our community and provide a safe environment for young children. To have vandals come and wreck this school is deeply disappointing,” said Ellis. “We recently refurbished the jungle gym and did up the outside of the building. When I say there is nothing left, I’m not exaggerating.
“The thieves and vandals ripped out light fittings, stole the doors to some of the rooms, smashed the sinks and toilets, ripped out all of the pipes. After they stole the pipes in the first break-in, they flooded the rooms. They also stole the window hinges so that I couldn’t close them. They even took time to take paint we had set aside for the children and splash this across the wall. It is just wanton vandalism. We had an alarm system, but the thieves cut the power to the building before entering.”
Ellis added she opened a case at Greenwood Park SAPS but, as yet, no arrests have been made.
The Greenwood Park resident said she now had to call parents of the children who are enrolled at the school to give them the bad news.
“We had been closed for a short time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but had plans to reopen. Most of the children enrolled were going to be attending in the new year. How do I explain what has happened to the parents? We might have to turn the children away because there is no way to work in this space. It is one thing to steal and take stuff, that I can replace. It might take me a long time, but this level of malicious damage is unfathomable.
If anyone can help, we would really appreciate all the support we can get,” she said. If you would like to assist the school, contact Lee Ellis on 065 647 0658.
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