As countless Mozambicans struggle to come to terms with the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai, St James Preparatory School in Jeppestown is extending a helping hand.
The school’s small community of learners launched a collection drive for the victims of the cyclone.
Parents were mobilised to actively participate in the campaign after the news broke that the cyclone had made landfall in the Southeast African country on March 15.
They were urged to donate tinned food and bottled water.
The collected goods will be handed over to the disaster relief group Gift of the Givers and flown to Mozambique.
As an important part of the school’s social cohesion philosophy, getting an initiative like this one off the ground was a move deeply rooted in its core values, which are “to serve others and make a difference within the community and beyond”.
Although a very small school that houses a total of 86 learners from Grade 000 to Grade Seven, the St James community aimed to make a big impact.
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The school’s executive head, Bev Counihan, said St James aimed to make the ordeal suffered by the neighbouring country a little more bearable.
“St James has always had a strong community focus and it became very logical on hearing about Idai that we do something,” said Counihan.
“We felt we had to channel our own energies by getting the children and their parents activated. We reached out to parents in a newsletter asking for donations of bottled water and requested that their children take the water to school along with canned goods.
“We thought we should extend our reach and, through the neighbouring Philosophy School, reached out to their other branches.
“Our small school was all of a sudden able to treble and quadruple in size.”
Counihan said it was heartwarming to learn that the school collected 600 5-litre bottles of water from the Lenasia-based Philosophy School at last count.
“That was just the one branch in addition to which we have the entire school community rallying, including the staff.
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“We are anticipating that Gift of the Givers will be collecting all of these soon. We are confident that by reaching out beyond the school, it will be a worthy contribution by St James,” said Counihan.
Counihan said the school’s core values of truth, love and service were the driving forces behind outreach projects such as this.
“By developing the character of the child through the philosophy that sits at the heart of the school, we are high on community and citizenship. It’s our go-to approach when we come to school every single day,” said Counihan.
LISTEN: Bev Counihan talks about the school’s relief efforts
