TAMMY FRAY
On Monday , former pupils from John Bisseker Secondary’s class of 1981 handed over a cheque for R15,000 to the school for much-needed repairs.
It was the first of further donations and resources that the former pupils plan to assist the school with.
Among the group was former head prefect Kumaresen Poonasamy and local businessman Deon Vangadajellum.
The funds have been placed into a restoration fund initiated by former principal Raman Khandoo.
As the fund grows, it will be used to address urgent resource challenges and to enable the school to generate an income through hiring out the school hall for events.
Throughout the year, restoration efforts at John Bisseker have progressed, with the erection of a fence around the perimeter improving security, due to the challenge of vandalism and theft.
One of the class of 1981’s aims for this year, in collaboration with the principal and SGB, is to work towards restoring the school hall.
The hall is sadly unusable as it has been targetted by thieves in recent years.
Vangadajellum said work would begin once quotations and labour had been organised. This would involve improving security first, including installing an alarm system and fixing electrical wiring.
“The burglar bars we need to address first because currently the doors at the back of the hall are old and made of wood and have no burglar bars over them, making them easy to access, and even the burglar bars on the windows are easy to break into so they need to be reinforced.”
The work, estimated at about R200,000, will be done in three phases. The focus will then shift to the cafeteria, improving hygiene and removing live wiring from the ground. Most pupils are part of the government assisted feeding scheme and eat their meals in the cafeteria.
Principal Richard Joubert called on anyone who could assist with plumbing, electrical work, welding or flooring. Contact:
johnbisssss@ gmail.com
or richhjoubert67@gmail.com.
