The Adopt-a-School foundation revamped a special needs school in the Emjindini Township of Barberton, Mpumalanga from a shack to a full facility.
The Thembelihle Cerebral Palsy Care Centre in the Emjindini Township of Barberton, Mpumalanga was started in 2010 by Ma Ennie. The centre took care of 30 young learners with severe disabilities in what was little more than a wooden shack.
The statistics for special needs learners in South Africa are shocking to say the least. Only 5% attain any form of higher education, this statistic was determined by census 2011.
“Schools in disadvantaged communities face many challenges. They are very seldom able to sufficiently accommodate learners with special needs. As a result, most of these children simply never enter the formal schooling system, even though many of them are very bright and would thrive in the right environment,” – Steven Lebere, Executive Director of Adopt-a-School
Barberton Mines approached Adopt-a-School Foundation to request assistance for Ma Ennie. They were hoping for assistance in upgrading the facility into a long-lasting, sustainable structure that could better serve the needs of this vulnerable community.
Little did they know, they would be receiving a state-of-the-art facility. They got classrooms, dormitories, ablution facilities, a dispensary, kitchen and dining facilities, offices and two flats for on-site staff. Just wow!
“The Thembelihle project was a first for us, but we hope to extend our support to more special needs facilities in future,”
“At AAS we want to support every aspect of our adopted schools, from the facilities to the teachers to the health and emotional wellbeing of the learners,”
“We always ensure that we empower and uplift the surrounding community. For example, during the Thembelihle project, 60 temporary jobs were created for local community members. This resulted in the transfer of valuable skills to these workers including bricklaying, paving, plumbing and project management skills.”
Adopt-a-School Foundation is a project of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation and was officially established in 2002 by a group of concerned individuals, including Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr James Motlatsi. There are currently 612 schools under the Adopt-a-School Foundation’s adoption programme. The Foundation works in all nine provinces in South Africa.
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For more information on Adopt-a-School check out their website here.
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