Download PDFIn Klipspruit West (south of Johannesburg), there is a young woman who collects old school uniforms, school shoes and school bags. She has been collecting it since the start of this year, for learners who are less fortunate.
Penny* (not her real name), has been collecting old school clothes for two years now. She said that she has never had so many people asking for assistance until this year. According to Penny, the reason for this is because a lot of households around her area has lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic and it has put a lot of strain on the families.
Penny also assists her community with the late registration process as she believes that no child should be denied access to education. “A lot of parents have no access to internet because they have no money to use the internet cafes or to buy data for online registration, so I assist and accompany them to school and to get the school to register the children”, she said.
Members of the community say that she has been a great help. “I am so happy that my child can go to school and get the education that she needs. If it was not for [Penny] my child would have had to sit at home because she did not have any uniform,” a parent said.
This article was submitted on 26 February 2021. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
