Durban - TO save on its monthly municipal water account, Kenville Primary School decided to fund-raise to build its own borehole.
The project began last month and is almost complete.
The non-fee-paying school has 950 pupils and services nine informal settlements in Kenville and Sea Cow Lake.
Raihnu Saikoolal, the principal, said most of the pupils did not have proper sanitation facilities at their homes and they used the school’s toilets multiple times a day.
She said on average the water account was about R30000 a month.
The school governing body decided it was time to build a borehole and wrote to the Department of Education seeking permission.
“While waiting for a response, we embarked on fund-raising projects,” said Saikoolal, who added that the borehole cost about R250000.
Last October, they raised R100000 at the schools’ 45th-anniversary celebrations, and former pupil Niresh Bechan, the general manager at Lenmed eThekwini Heart Hospital, sponsored a further R105000. With most of the money in hand, construction started in June.
“The first step was digging the borehole,” said Saikoolal.
“We brought in the rig and dug 200 metres underground. This took about three days.
“We secured enough water to supply not only the pupils of this generation but for generations to come.”
She said they then filled two storage tanks - each with a 10000-litre capacity.
“The final phase entails connecting the water supply to the school toilets. We have not done this yet. We need to get a plumber and we still need to fund-raise.”
Saikoolal plans to secure the funds via advertising and releasing a school brochure in August.
“Water is life and a rare commodity. To leave a legacy by providing water for our school and cutting our costs dramatically is a dream come true for me, my staff and the school governing body.”
Since some of the grades reopened as the lockdown was eased, she said the Durban North Sai Centre had distributed more than 1200 food hampers and 200 blankets to the pupils and their families.
The Shri Vishnu Temple Society, the Soofie Saheb Mosque in Kenville and the Kenville Ratepayers’ Association sponsored a further 400 hampers.
Saikoolal has taught at Kenville Primary for 38 years and served as principal for eight.
“As leaders in the community, we need to ensure our children are given a fair chance at a bright future.”
She also hopes to start a food garden project to help the impoverished community grow their own food and vegetables.
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