After noticing the various challenges at Baviaans Kouga Academy, which is without water and electricity, schoolteacher Jaco Wagner and his fiancé, Tracy van Rooyen, from Hankey, have been hard at work trying to make a difference at the school and in the local community.
As a teacher at Baviaans Kouga Academy, Wagner was aware of the struggles faced at the newly built school, which included no water or electricity for at least 400 learners, since it opened its doors in 2020.
As a result, he said, he had to teach in the dark, which often caused the learners to become easily distracted and fall asleep in class.
Wagner said he therefore had to make use of his personal inverter to ensure that there was electricity in his classroom which he then recharged at home for the following school day.
To help deal with the various issues at the school, Van Rooyen suggested the couple establish a foundation to enable them to do more work in the community and request for help from surrounding businesses.
The Wagner Foundation was then established and registered as a non-profit company in October last year.
Eight months later, the couple have continued working hard to make a difference in the lives of the learners at the schools.
“Through our foundation, we are trying to make a change in people’s lives in any way that we can,” said Wagner.
Since many of the learners at the school stayed in the surrounding farming areas, Van Rooyen said they were not exposed to much outside of their community.
“We want to help the children at the school expand their knowledge and realise that they are not limited to a life in agriculture. They can do anything they would like to,” said Van Rooyen.
“We like taking the children on outings to different places and hopefully keep them away from negative elements in their community, such as drugs.”
One of their many projects at the school was to establish a resource centre, filled with reading books, computers, and an area for the learners to do their homework.
Fortunately, they will soon receive the old desks, bookcases, chairs, and a computer, which previously belonged to the Patensie Public Library from Kouga Municipality, which will help to get them one step closer to making their dream a reality.
They have also raised R5 000 for a motorised school bell system in the intermediate and senior phase block and they received a donation for another school bell for the admin block from Smhart Security and Hennie Britz Attorneys.
Furthermore, they have established an ongoing tree planting project to beautify the school, with donations from Working for Water and Gamtoos Nursery.
In addition to assisting the learners at the school, the foundation has also extended a helping hand to those in need in the surrounding areas.
Earlier this month they donated food, water, clothing, and blankets to people in Loerie who were affected by the protest action in Hankey.
“Our work is not limited to the school, as we see the struggles in the community and are always willing to help anyone in need,” said Wagner.
“We want to be the change in our community and be remembered for what we did to help others while encouraging the people we have assisted to pay it forward.”
Despite the good works done at the school and the surrounding community, the foundation has struggled to expand to other areas in the Kouga region due to lack of funding.
Wagner said they were therefore hoping more individuals and businesses would consider donating to their worthy cause.
“We would like to thank all those who have supported us, and we would like to encourage others to support us to bring smiles, laughter and education in an otherwise dark world,” said Wagner.
“Let us be the sunshine and be the change.”
- For more information contact Jaco Wagner 083 996 1391, Tracy Van Rooyen 071 569 8918 or email help.thewagnerfoundation@gmail.com.
