Community members educate and uplift pupils from Cromati
Girls at Cromati Combined School were educated about women's health and community members donated food and goods to the pupils.
ORLANDO – Pupils of Cromati Combined School had a great first day back at school when a group of good Samaritans visited them on Mandela Day.
The outreach was organised by Mr Nathi Mamba, an Orlando resident and Komatipoort SUPERSPAR employee, who approached local businesses and individuals for donations.
The main purpose of the day was to motivate young girls to talk to their parents during their period concerning sanitary towels. Mamba said that husbands and fathers of teenagers need to make it a habit and include it in their shopping basket.
“A lot of young girls don’t even have access to this basic need, and it becomes the teacher’s problem at school. Many times teachers have to buy sanitary towels out of their own pockets to help the girls. Sometimes girls even stay at home at that time of the month, because they don’t have any sanitary towels.”
Cash and 380 packets of sanitary towels were donated. Each of the nearly 500 pupils also received a hotdog or boerewors roll, chips and a drink at the end of the day. A big Mandela cake by Komatipoort SUPERSPAR was cut and handed out.
Community volunteers from Mapitswane Performing Arts Centre, Ms Maria Coutinho, Ms Phelaphi Lithuli and Mr Steven Sfiso Mavimbela helped with the preparing and dishing out of the food.
Coutinho challenged the municipality of Komatipoort not to turn a blind eye to the school and underprivileged in Orlando. “We need the school to be uplifted. There are health hazards in the immediate area, it’s unacceptable and we can’t allow this to carry on. As the business community, I think we should all get together and exchange and implement ideas that can make a difference.”
She shared her idea of teaching the unemployed how to grow organic vegetables to sell to the lodges in the area. “We need to make this an everyday thing. We need a training centre here, to teach the unemployed skills. We are asking all the businesses in Komatipoort to donate their old computers so that we can set up computer classes to make people literate and also for the school.
“The school doesn’t even have sport grounds. We need the community of Komatipoort to be here for the people, not only for today, but during the whole year.”
Mamba thanked all of the generous sponsors who made the event possible.
