Through donations and volunteer efforts like the 67 Minutes for Mandela, a farm school that started in a cowshed in the 1960s has transformed into a centre for academic excellence with a well-resourced library and computer and science laboratories that the principal says has put it on par with its suburban counterparts.
From 2005, Olifantsvlei Primary School in Eikenhof, south of Joburg, has benefited from the generosity of donors like the Adopt-A-School Foundation, Shanduka and now recently the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation to turn it into a safe environment conducive to learning and teaching.
It caters for learners from Grade R to Grade 7.
First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe joined celebrities, TV personalities and Miss SA Top 16 finalists who rolled up their sleeves to spruce up the school as part of their 67 Minutes volunteer work - which included painting and erecting a perimeter fence on Mandela Day, on Thursday.
Principal Stanley Tshikovhi understandably beams with pride at the progress the school has made through the years from a cowdung eyesore into a model school where he says performance has greatly improved.
“From around 2005 the school was overcrowded,” Tshikovhi says, “and it was during that time we started getting help from outside. A group of Austrian students came here with their own resources to design and build the early childhood development centre (ECDC). Since that improvement, we have been able to increase our enrolment to, as we speak, 78 Grade R learners and three teachers.”
On Mandela Day, the ECDC was one of the structures on the premises that was given a lick of fresh paint. The architecture makes it stand out like a beacon on the school grounds.
During a short space of 14 years Tshikovhi says he saw the school get a learning centre - complete with a library, arts centre and science laboratory: “Then there came a block of four classes, then another block of five classes. We did not have an Admin block. Teachers used to squat in an evacuated classroom during their lunch breaks. Many of the classrooms did not have ceilings.”
The area that makes the forecourt of the Admin block was not paved. It is now: “It used to be a mud bath during the rainy season.”
In no time, volunteers and kind sponsors built combi-courts. A lot of the corporate sponsors that put their money where their mouths are, in a manner of speaking, were associated with President Cyril Ramaphosa, like AngloGold Ashanti, McDonald’s, Shanduka and now the foundation carrying his name. Steven Lebere, executive director of Adopt-A-School Foundation says their Back To School For A Day initiative has gone beyond just being an annual day of action.
“It encourages citizens to become involved in improving education on a sustainable basis. This day will help improve the physical environment where children learn, grow and develop to reach their full potential. Whether it’s painting the walls, planting food gardens or fixing broken furniture - this day is about rolling up our sleeves and lending a hand to make a difference.”
“Investing in young children is crucial for our country; through collaborations and a collective effort every child can be afforded an equal opportunity to a brighter future.”
Back To School For A Day is the brainchild of Ramaphosa. The inaugural event took place in 2012.
It is a call to South Africans to go back to school to enrich the lives of learners by sharing their knowledge, skills, time and compassion.
It borrows immensely from the selfless objectives of Mandela Day.
And those who saw its benefits are the pupils of Olifantsvlei Primary School.
Celebrities Maps Maponyane and Oros Mampofu and beauty queens gave of their time to do physical work as part of their 67 Minutes.
Just being on the school grounds on the day convinced even this sceptical reporter that Mandela Day was indeed a great initiative.
But the man with the biggest smile on the day was the principal. “This school could be mistaken for one in the suburbs. We have consistently had renovations taking place from 2005, and the 67 Minutes. Even the performance now has improved drastically because we have a school conducive to learning and teaching.”
Adopt-A-School Foundation says: “While our volunteers will be here today, much of the work will take place in the weeks after Mandela Day to ensure that we leave the school with a beautiful Grade R (centre) that encourages excellence in literacy and numeracy and becomes a space safe for our learners and educators.”