UCDO donates to keep a child in school
They donated five school bags and school shoes to at least five needy learners from Mpumelelo Primary School
Umzekelo Community Development Organisation (UCDO) continues to run its charity work to meet the needs of the underprivileged during this Human Rights month.
The oganisation aims to ensure that every child gets an education, a human right, it believes everyone should have.
Recently, they donated five school bags and school shoes to at least five needy learners from Mpumelelo Primary School.
According to UCDO founder Fortunate Shabangu, the donation was made possible by Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of the late Nelson Mandela after they ran the campaign on their social media platforms.
“During the handover, we realised that one of the five children had dropped out. We then engaged with the school to have him back when schools reopen.
“It is these challenges that mostly lead to drop outs, especially in disadvantaged schools like this one. I remember growing up, raised by my grandmother. She couldn’t afford to buy me shoes and a school bag, so I had to carry my books in a plastic or a bag of rice,” said Shabangu.
“The struggles of my past fuel me to seek better ways for children today in schools who survive by the school’s feeding scheme, it’s different times but the struggles remain the same. My situation forced me to drop out of school while I was in Grade Eight.
“As UCDO, we hate to see similar events repeating themselves. We try by all means to keep a child in school as we also run a UCDO Donate A Book Drive.
“The drive is dedicated to enhance reading among peers in different schools. A big thank you to Zindzi Mandela for the big donation we managed to impact someone’s life with.
“The learners are now under our beneficiary list and they will benefit from the different projects we are running at UCDO.”
The School’s acting principal, Ntombifuthi Mhlongo, wrote a letter of appreciation which reads, “This letter serves to express our appreciation for the school uniform and school bag donation that you have made to our five learners in the school. We are very grateful for the beautiful gesture.
“As a school that is in a disadvantaged area, we plead with you to always remember us.”
