The handover came after the school’s foundation phase did a charity drive at the school to raise funds for the wheelchair, with generous contributions also from donors and The Sweetheart Foundation.
Kerry Gandini, Bryanston Primary’s Montessori maths teacher and organiser of the drive, explained that the pupils collected plastic bottle tops and bread tags as part of the drive.
“The [collected] plastic items were then handed [over] to the foundation for recycling, who then arranged for a wheelchair to be handed over to
10-year-old Lee Dubazane, at a special ceremony at the school,” she explained.
Gandini further explained that Dubazane, who was born with cerebral palsy and had been carried everywhere for most of her life by her parents, was delighted to be at the school to receive her new wheelchair.
“The Foundation Phase [also] sang to Dubazane and presented her with a teddy bear, as well as a gift from the Grade 0 kiddies,” she said.
Pamela Dubazane, Lee’s mother, was also present at the ceremony and expressed gratitude for the special gift, saying that the wheelchair would make their lives so much easier.
Principal Leon Botha expressed pride at Gandini and her pupils’ efforts in gifting Dubazane with a wheelchair.
“Thank you to Mrs Gandini and the children for all your efforts toward making this charity a success at Bryanston Primary School,” he concluded.
The Sweetheart Foundation, a non-profit organisation, collects bread tags and plastic bottle tops which are recycled through waste management company, Interwaste, in exchange for wheelchairs. Each wheelchair is exchanged for 150kg of bottle tops and 15kg of bread tags.
Details: e-mail Leigh Pearce at leighnicolepearce@gmail.com
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