RAPULA MOATSHE
THE R36 million project by Ford Motor Company to donate 100 mathematics and science labs to schools across the country will bring about hope to learners at the previously disadvantaged schools to work hard to achieve their goals.
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman expressed the sentiment yesterday in Mamelodi, where Ford handed over one of the laboratories to learners at Agnes Chidi Primary School.
Gift of the Givers was approached by Ford to become an implementing agent for the educational project in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education.
The educational initiative was unveiled at the school as part of Ford’s centenary celebrations in South Africa.
Sooliman said: “Ford and Gift of the Givers have a long-standing partnership and the idea of supporting schools, especially very rural schools in the country where kids have no opportunities and where teachers don’t have the equipment to teach these kids and absolutely the kids have less chance of progressing in the world.”
He appreciated Ford for funding 100 containers to be used as science and maths labs, saying the gesture coincided with the company’s centenary celebrations.
He said at least 40 labs will be ready by December this year to be handed over to other schools.
“This is the first one and it gives us a chance if there are any flaws on how to fix the system,”he said.
Part of the donations would include laptops to teachers to have an online training on how to make use of the labs.
“More than having an educational facility like a science lab, you bring great hope to children,”Sooliman said.
He thanked the Department of Education for allowing them to put up containers at their schools and being part of the process for identifying needy schools.
Speaking on behalf of Ford, Dudu Nxele, expressed gratitude to company partners for putting together the project to assist learners studying science and maths.
“We are trying to help scholars so that they improve their marks and hopefully be able to get into high school,”she said, adding that the company donated a total of R36.7 million towards the project.
Asked how the 100 needy schools were identified, she said: “The need is so much in South Africa but what we did is that we work with the Department of Basic Education and from day one they have been our partners and therefore they are the one that identify the schools that are mostly in need of these maths and science. They gave us a list of 100 schools across the country to say these are the schools that need it the most.”
There were at least five schools in Mamelodi that stood to benefit from the donation.
Acting school principal Lydia Mokgopha, who was grateful for the donation, said: “It will really give our learners a chance of being exposed to most scientific practicals and activities which they never had before. We also as teachers appreciate this because we are all going to benefit from this lab as well.
“We are living in the times when the world is heading into the fourth industrial revolution. So, this really means a lot to us. We are no longer going to spend a lot of money going to other centres in trying to help our learners to do practicals.”
Pretoria News