Port authority staff donate school shoes to KwaMakhutha school

PUPILS of Yiboni Junior Primary School in KwaMakhutha received new school shoes on Thursday, 15 February from Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) which had been donated by the company’s Durban-based staff for underprivileged students attending the school.

This was a fitting tribute to South Africa’s former President, Nelson Mandela in his centenary year.
The Shoes on Feet campaign which was started in 2014 as a tribute after Madiba’s death, has made a difference in the lives of thousands of pupils across the country.

Check out the gallery: Yiboni Primary School receives shoes from Transnet

According to TPT’s Nozipho Sithole, while the company is proud of this initiative which demonstrates active citizenry within TPT’s operations throughout South Africa, there are plans to grow the number of donations and ultimately the impact it will have on underprivileged learners’ lives.

“Our main aim is to provide hope and restore confidence and pride in the future leaders of our country through these school shoe donations. In line with Tata Madiba’s legacy of community outreach and improving conditions within the field of education, we believe it is fitting to mark our fifth year of this project by inviting our stakeholders, customers and members of the public that we interact with to also join our efforts to ‘Be The Legacy’,” explained Sithole.

Sithole explained how during this year the Shoes on Feet initiative would be extended to other external players across the country to get involved in donating much needed school shoes for those less fortunate.

According to Yiboni Primary School principal Mduduzi Kheswa, the school shoes donated this year to its needy pupils has brought much hope to the children who lack even the most basic school essentials.

“We are so grateful to have been selected for this year’s donation of school shoes for our children. This is the first time that our students have benefitted from this generous donation,” said the principal.
Kheswa explained that the school accommodates learners from pre-primary (grade R) to grade 7 with a total enrolment of 1,000 learners.

“Our learners come from the local disadvantaged community, and some of these children are not only struggling with poverty and unemployment, but also hail from child-headed homes,” said the principal. “The impact these shoes have on their lives cannot be underestimated because to these learners, it symbolises hope and motivates them keep attending school.”

Established in 1969, the school prides itself on the achievements of the young learners. The wall of honour in the principal’s office is adorned with trophies which learners have won in sports tournaments, Maths Olympiads, poetry and storytelling sessions, community projects and natural science and technology competitions.

Shoes on Feet is one of just a number of initiatives carried out by Transnet Port Terminals to empower communities they operate in.

Other significant projects in and around Durban include SMME development programmes in conjunction with the provincial Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) department and the Coastal TVET College in Hammarsdale which provided a boost of more than R2-million to youth-owned rural co-operatives in KZN.

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