Teachers and pupils of Redhill School took part in the 2016 School SleepOut, braving a freezing Johannesburg winter’s night in their sleeping bags at Kingsmead College.
The college played host to the other schools taking part in this year’s SleepOut and the icy weather was a unifying factor as the night progressed.
Lelita Kekana, a Grade 10 pupil of Redhill was grateful for the opportunity to be part of the event. “My first thought was that I was going to miss my warm bed, and that got me thinking that this is what many people go through day in and day out. They only have the clothes on their back,” said Kekana
Students from Redhill School learning how to hand – knit at the #SchoolSleepOut2016 @Sandton_News pic.twitter.com/lZFRKuqfLr
— Brolloks Bittergal (@USQUExADxFINEM) July 28, 2016
Fellow pupil, Thomas Healey, in Grade 7, said it was an eye-opener for him. “You realise that you sleep in a nice bed every night. Tonight gives us the opportunity to experience what so many South Africans have to go through. As privileged individuals, we must help out as much as we can.”
Teachers also participated in the SleepOut and were seen consuming dangerous amounts of coffee.
Simphiwe Vilakazi, director of community engagement at Redhill said, “Tonight is about creating awareness around homelessness and we are very proud of our students who have embraced the challenge.”
Joseph Gerassi, executive head of the school believes that pupils should learn and grow outside of traditional structures. “I think it was a strategic decision on behalf of the school,” he said.
“As a privileged school, we wanted to get our kids to understand that not everybody is in the same position that they are. Part of education is not only about the maths and science and English, it’s also about life and how you can become a better person.”
At Kingsmead College for the start of the #SchoolSleepOut2016 @Sandton_News pic.twitter.com/3yV4c4gfpX
— Brolloks Bittergal (@USQUExADxFINEM) July 28, 2016
Jaco Koekemoer, CEO of Caxton Coldset Printers said the main objectives of the CEO and School SleepOut was to create awareness and collect funds in support of the less fortunate who shared the streets of Johannesburg. He added that although the main event only lasted for one night, it was vital for people to create a realisation within local communities that there were others who were not sharing in what the city had to offer.
