A brighter future behind the door of container
Rural children get a better chance at life.
General Electric Company (GE) handed over two fully equipped, state-of-the-art classroom containers and a service container valued at R1 million to the Kromdraai community on Wednesday 12 February to improve the lives of children who otherwise does not have access to basic education facilities.
“We are committed to investing in South Africa’s future leaders,” says Tim Schweikert, president and CEO of GE South Africa.
“GE’s goal is to improve lives across the globe. Our contribution to Kromdraai is an immediate solution that will benefit the community,” he adds.
The donation will provide 75 children access to fully-equipped education facilities in converted shipping containers called Edutainers.
In addition, 50 adults will benefit from schooling and training in the Edutainers in the evenings. The Department of Education will staff and manage the facility for the community, which currently does not have adequate school facilities.
According to GE, Kromdraai was selected for the donation as it is one of the communities targeted by the Gauteng Provincial Government for poverty relief and development in the 20 Prioritised Townships Programme.
The programme is an undertaking by the Gauteng Provincial Government, municipalities and parastatals to provide social and economic infrastructure to build sustainable communities.
The donation of these Edutainers also supports South Africa’s Education for All initiative, which lists access to early childhood development and access to free and compulsory primary education among its six goals.
GE invests not only in the education of children and future leaders, but also in their wellbeing. Last week, GE announced a donation of $1 million (about R11 million) to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to help realise the late former President Nelson Mandela’s lasting wish to provide world-class child health care through the establishment of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
“Every child deserves the right to education and the opportunity to succeed. We hope this contribution will help make that possible for children in Kromdraai and will create a pipeline for future leaders,” concludes Schweikert.
