In Pefferville, families are forced to choose between buying food or school clothes but the Rotary Club of Arcadia and New Kwanda NGO are putting an end to this, by providing R16,000 worth of school shoes to the community.
On January 29, close to 100 pairs of shoes were handed out. A single father whose son received one of the pairs of shoes, confessed that his eight-year-old son had not been enrolled for the 2025 school year because there was not enough money available to cover the costs of registration, school clothes and stationery. The donation comes as a relief, the father said.
Fellow parent Mandy Fortuin, said parents from Pefferville represented the bulk of unemployed people in East London which means families are too destitute to afford the rising costs of school attire. Without the correct school clothes, Fortuin said the children are sent home by the school or drop out, for fear of being bullied.
Founder of Geraldine’s Child and Youth Care Centre NPO, Geraldine Ruiters said families take on crippling debt to afford uniforms.
Pat Hill from Rotary Club of Arcadia said the organisation had been involved for many years.
“We hope this initiative will ensure children feel proud of themselves and confident in their appearance when they go to school so that they can focus on studying without worrying about being excluded because of their attire,” Hill said.
New Kwanda’s Mark Stewart said: “We noticed there was a dire need for school shoes because the children’s dignity was being eroded as they were forced to go to school in worn out takkies [trainers] or flip flops.
“It is hard enough as it is to be a child in Pefferville because 90% of the people are on social grants and cannot cope with covering basic needs such as food, let alone shoes.”
One little boy holding his new pair of school shoes said: “I can’t wait to go to school now so I can become a lawyer.”
New Kwanda extended its gratitude to Rotary Club of Arcadia and Jumbo for enabling the school shoes donation to come to fruition.
