- Spar Eastern Cape has donated 150 new desks to KwaMagxaki High School matric learners.
- These matric learners were in dire need of new desks, as they were working in cramped workspaces.
- Spar Eastern Cape has also built an outdoor gym for the community that is affected by unemployment.
A donation of 150 brand-new desks is set to bring much-needed relief to KwaMagxaki High School matrics who have struggled to focus while sharing cramped workspaces.
It is not only in the classroom that the school’s youngsters are benefiting. The Gqeberha institution, which serves a community severely affected by unemployment, has also taken possession of outdoor gym equipment to shape healthy bodies, along with sharpened minds.
The desks and gym facility are the latest investments by Spar Eastern Cape in the school, which lies close to the retail group’s distribution centre in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Earlier this year the Spar provided kit to the school’s netball, rugby, soccer, basketball and athletics teams, to cultivate a sense of unity in practice and during competition.
In addition, the retailer has re-marked the school’s netball court and soccer fields, and embarked on a programme to replace broken windows.
Advertising manager Roseann Shadrach said that the Spar Group was in the business of creating “forever smiles”.
“We engaged with the principal to ascertain the daily needs and challenges that faced the school, teachers and learners, in order for us to put together a plan of action for the year.”
Deputy principal, Nosiphiwo Fasi, said that the desks, which arrived three weeks ago, had come as a blessing as matrics had been sitting three adjacent at the old table-top work surfaces.
Being crammed together made concentrating difficult, she explained.
“We have been suffering with the desks. Three learners on two chairs brought a lot of challenges and it didn’t sit well with us.
“Now the new desks will be used across five classrooms, and the old ones can be used elsewhere.”
Having learning-conducive classroom equipment went a long way in creating positive attitudes among the learners, she said.
“It’s very important to instil a sense of pride.”
Matric learner, Lwanga Lubuza, was grateful for the desks that would make writing his all-important final exams more comfortable, and help his peers improve their focus.
The 18-year-old, who hopes to teach one day having been inspired by those who taught him, was also pleased that those in lower grades would benefit from the desks and gym equipment.
The latter, which includes leg-raise machines, air-walkers and exercise bikes, came into operation earlier this year and has proved a hit.
Not only is the equipment used by the school’s athletes for strength and conditioning purposes ahead of their weekend matches, but it is also used by youngsters eager to test their physical prowess at break time. “They like it too much,” Fasi teased.
“At times we have to remind them to go back to the classroom when the bell rings.”
She thanked the retailer, adding that they also enjoyed an excellent relationship with the neighbourhood’s Spar outlet.
Shadrach said,
the absolute elation on their faces is an experience that cannot be described in words,” said Shadrach.
The retailer, she explained, was committed to encouraging leadership through relationships with its communities.
“Equally important is the opportunity to encourage a healthy lifestyle,” she added.
“We want our future customers to focus on healthy eating and exercise, but understand that the economy doesn’t necessarily allow for this. Not many can afford to be a member of a gym.”
Initiatives like these opened the way to a better, healthier life, indicated Shadrach.
