South Africa – Opening doors to a brighter future through education
In 2018, four Dutch student volunteers travelled to Grange Primer School near Hopetown to support local children through fundraising, education and community activities. Together with local partners, they helped create a more inspiring environment where children could learn, play and grow.
Four students, one shared mission
In May 2018 Pim, Martijn, Lexander and Michiel (four Dutch student volunteers from Wolfert Van Borselen school in Rotterdam) spent 12 days immersing themselves in the day-to-day activities and lessons at Grange Primer School at Witput, near Hopetown.
This school has been supported for some time already by Roux Pecans and Rhumveld Winter & Konijn, under the umbrella of “Big Skies Foundation”, which supports and motivates children to follow better education.
The boys spent a few months raising funds to contribute to the school. After consultation with the Grange Primer’s headmistress, it was decided that the school would greatly benefit from a new jungle gym. Once the project was identified and the cost of it known, the boys did several fundraising initiatives in The Netherlands to be able to fully donate a fantastic jungle gym to the school.
A day the children will never forget
A certain highlight beyond constructing the Jungle Gym was the boys’ idea to merge their Koningsdag with South Africa’s Freedom Day and create a day full of fun activities for the school children.
This saw the boys setting up a sports day style event complete with gold medals, which were presented to all the children at the end of the day.
It cannot be underestimated how much it meant to the children and the school community to experience this enthusiasm and eagerness to create a fun and inclusive event for everyone.
The boys were extremely happy to be able to positively contribute and spend time with these children.
Pim explained:
“Unfortunately, there is still a big difference in quality and facilities between the various primary schools in South Africa, where the government does not always play a constructive role. By supporting the Grange Primer School we hope to make that little bit of difference, which makes the stay at school more pleasant and enjoyable.”
Reflections from the volunteers
The Dutch students reflected on their experience after returning home:
“We want to thank all donors for their donations. They have ensured that Grange Primer has a better playground, helping children enjoy coming to school even more. We have had the most special time of our lives. A time in which we learned a great deal about how our lives should not be taken for granted. With great pleasure we made a small effort in supporting the Grange Primer School and we have seen and learned things that we will never forget.”