Olwandle High School pupil, Siyanda Hlophe, whose school shoes were recently stolen from his verandah in Gamalakhe, was delighted to receive new school shoes from the Mzwandile Mkhwanazi Foundation.
The founder of the foundation, Mzwandile Mkhwanazi donated 200 school uniforms for girls, 200 uniforms for boys and 200 pairs of shoes to the school.
Siyanda’s aunt, Thabisile Hlophe, told Fever that the donation came at a time, they needed it most.
“Siyanda is in Grade 9 and when he came back home excited with a pair of school shoes we were so relieved because his shoes were recently stolen from our house just after he polished them. He started wearing takkies to school and teachers started complaining before giving him a pair of second hand shoes to use until we could afford to buy him a new pair,” she said, adding that they are grateful for the donation because they don’t know when they would have had money to buy him new ones.
Speaking to Fever, Mkhwanazi said he chose to give back at Olwandle High School because that’s the high school he attended.
Mkhwanazi, who is also a former ANC KZN Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) member added that he was also a teacher at the very same school for some time.
“I decided to start with this school because this is where I grew up. Our aim as the foundation is to help children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds because the reason some children drop out of school is that they see themselves as having bigger problems than other pupils. We hope to do this project for the next five years where we assist children from struggling backgrounds,” he said.
He added that the Mzwandile Mkhwanazi Foundation also aims to strengthen the partnerships between members of the community, the teacher, and the parent, saying that it is because of the lack of that type of partnership that society is faced with a number of problems today.
School principal, Lucky Mantsho, said the donation will encourage pupils to wear the school uniform the correct way, saying that pupils will now come to school more confident and looking forward to schooling.
“And that is a win for us because teaching and learning will go smoothly. We are grateful to the Mzwandile Mkhwanazi Foundation,” he said
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