Gone is the tired school building with its fading paint and scuffed walls, and in its place is a bright building proudly wearing a brand new lick of paint.
Golden Valley Casino and Lodge in Worcester set aside R23 000 from their corporate social investment (CSI) budget to purchase the paint, then gathered up a team of willing volunteers from Golden Valley to undertake the painting.
“Painting a project of this size requires extensive amounts of standing, climbing, bending, kneeling and stretching,” says Golden Valley general manager Keenan Bergins. “The volunteer team was young and fairly fit, yet they were more than a little sore the next day. But it was worth every ache to see the surprise on the children’s faces.”
The principal, Juliana Burger, praised Golden Valley for their assistance. “These children mostly all live in challenging situations where everything they have has been handed down,” she said. “Their pride in their ‘new’ school was palpable. It’s rewarding to see them glowing with pride over the fact that their school looks new now.”
Bo-Doornrivier Primary School, situated 35 km outside Worcester, is a multi-grade school with only 66 learners and three teachers. Most of the parents work on the surrounding farms where they earn minimum wages. School fundraising initiatives are always a challenge as a result of this, so the school relies on businesses in the area to assist.
Bergins says: “These learners have no convenient transport. To get to school they need to walk up to 4 km in all weather conditions, but they do so without ever complaining because school is a happy place for them, and they have such a thirst for knowledge. Hopefully someone reading this story will be able to assist the school with transport.”
