VIDEO: Sleeping out for the poor
Confronting the struggles children face in township schools.
The 2018 School SleepOut Ambassadors in collaboration with Tomorrow Trust visited Thabisang Primary School in Orlando West last Friday, which is one of the beneficiaries of the SleepOut.
The visit, which culminated in a tour of the school, was to conscientise the ambassadors to the struggles of children who are in schools less privileged than their own.
“It’s amazing to see that they’re using the little funds they have to put back into the school and that it’s so well run. It’s nice to see that things like that are going on in the country,” said Brandon Upfold, one of the 2018 School SleepOut ambassadors.
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School SleepOut is an initiative that runs parallel to the CEO SleepOut which takes place in July annually. The initiatives raise money for the less fortunate and donate blankets while also attempting to gain empathy for them by braving a cold winter’s night in the outside.
“It’s wonderful to see kids at such a young age who want to make a change in their communities and within their lives and within their schools. It’s really inspiring for them to start at such a young age and it’s really amazing to see,” said Kim Currin, the School SleepOut Principal.
The ambassadors are tasked with motivating other schools to take part in the sleepout and give back to their communities according to Currin. School SleepOut Ambassador, Phumulani Nunu, noted that Thabisang Primary School exposed him to a school environment vastly different from his own.
“Discipline wise, the school is very different from my own. There’s no vandalism on all the walls and at my previous school there were writings of vulgar words,” Nunu said.
Upfold and Nunu explained that the tour changed their outlook on township schools.
“I think it’s important not to look down on other schools as well because the poorest school might produce one of the best students out of the resources they have,” explained Nunu.
Thabisang Primary School plans to partake in the 2018 School SleepOut on July 18 with the seniors of their school, the Grade 7s. This is the first sleepout the school will be hosting and they hope to host more.
All schools in Soweto are encouraged to join in the sleepout and also donate blankets and other essentials for the less fortunate.
- Providing the flame to igniting girl power – [also read]
- aboGogo just need a roof over their heads – [also read]
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