The learners and teachers at Laastedrif NGK Primary School were thrilled to start the 2022 academic year in their newly renovated classrooms.
The construction project, initiated by the school’s principal and which commenced late last year, replaced asbestos structures to make way for newly built brick classrooms.
Overall, learners and teachers at this Ceres school are pleased to have returned to a better learning environment that is safer and more conducive to studying.
“Asbestos is not an ideal material for classrooms, not only because of the possible long-term health impact, but because the classrooms get very hot in summer, which severely restricts academic activities,” says Dewald September, principal. “We found that due to lack of air conditioning, classrooms became more humid than brick-built rooms, resulting in lethargy and general fatigue among our learners, making it difficult to concentrate for extended periods.
Funded by the Perdekraal East Wind Farm, in collaboration with Laastedrif Boerdery, and headed by the principal, the renovation of this primary school with more than 30 learners, included plastering and painting the classrooms. This was not previously possible with the asbestos walls.
“We can now create a proper and inviting classroom atmosphere for our young learners,” September said. “The brick classrooms are not as hot in the extreme summer heat and will be warmer during winter. It no longer rains into the classrooms and learners enjoy the new classrooms and school infrastructure improvements as much as the educators. We are very grateful and proud of this accomplishment.”
This project forms a part of the Wind Farm’s asset based community development programme, which has a keen focus on mobilising communities.
“We are very proud of being involved in this project,” said Jo-Anne Brown, economic development manager at Perdekraal.
“Our goal has been to help provide children with access to equitable education. Further, we were not only able to support this school building project, but also had a pro-active collaboration between the public and private sector. We believe working together leads to achieving results faster.”
