The Sibaya Community Trust recently brought smiles to the faces of pupils from Mitchford Primary in Tongaat and uThongathi Primary School by donating close to 200 bags to Grade R learners.
The children's bags were damaged or lost during the recent tornado that affected Durban's north coast.
Jane Pillay, the Trust Fund Manager of the Sibaya Community Trust, said the trust had so far donated more than R270 million toward social development for various initiatives.
“We recently opened the multi-million rand Bayview Ubuntu Community Centre in Chatsworth and handed over the Fundani Children's Home to the Khulani Shelter. The trust also contributed to the rebuild of Edith Benson Babies Home, which burnt down five years ago in Sherwood. We built an additional classroom for Maidstone Primary School in Tongaat, and we are currently preparing for the handover of the Mohanji Center of Benevolence in Nonoti in KwaDukuza.”
She added: “We heard children from Mitchford Primary and uThongathi Primary School lost a lot of their belongings, including their school bags following the tornado. Our trust decided to donate school bags to the grade R pupils to help uplift them. Our chairman, Vivian Reddy, is passionate about the well-being of children, so it was easy to make the decision to donate these bags."
Ashnee Dayla, a teacher at Mitchford Primary, said: "The children from our school are from different economic backgrounds and many of them lost their belongings during the tornado, so these bags are beneficial to them. We are grateful for the sponsorship from the Sibaya Community Trust."
Ntwenhle Ntanzi, the chairperson of uThongathi Primary School, said:"So many learners have parents that are not working and a lot of our pupils come from the Magwaveni township, Sandfields, and Newtown. Those areas were badly affected by the tornado and so many of our pupils were in need of school supplies. We are also thankful for the kindness shown by the Sibaya Community Trust."