East school starts projects to help needy learners

Teachers and staff at New Hope School in Menlo Park have gone the extra mile to help needy learners at the school through different fundraisers.

School marketing manager Karen Meyer said the teachers and staff came up with different fundraisers to try and make it easier for learner and parents who were struggling financially.

The New Hope is a school for learners with cerebral palsy, physical and learning disabilities.

“A lot of learners’ parents struggle financially because of all the medical expenses. Some parents are also estranged because of the financial strain,” said Meyer.

She said the school was partly subsidised by the government and this was just enough to cover the fees and not everything that the learners needed.

Meyer said most of the funds they raised went towards school fees, bus and hostel fees, clothes and school shoes and anything else the learners might need.

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Nannie Lombard who leads the cookie project fundraising campaign said she started the project to help learners stay at the school’s hostel.

“We started this cookie project last year in June, because we realised that some of these students would be put out of the hostel if we didn’t try and do something,” said Lombard.

She and her chef decided they would start baking cookies.

She said she was touched by a learner from Rustenburg whose family could barely make ends meet. She said the learner’s parents were trying their best to make sure he stayed in school and it was heart-breaking to realise that he might not have a place to stay.

“On some nights we only leave the school at 19:00, we aren’t complaining because this means we get to help but it still isn’t enough for the kids.

“We really need more people to support us so that we can help more kids,” said Lombard.

Leon Olivier, a matric mathematics teacher at the school, said they started the “Trap Vir Hoop” fundraising campaign about three years ago.

Olivier along with some of his friends and ordinary residents interested in helping, cycle from Pretoria to Durban to raise funds for the school’s matriculants.

“Not only do we get to ride our bicycles, but we also get to raise funds for the learners who really need it.

“A few of the cyclists took a walk through the school after our first trip to Durban and then only did they understand how special the staff and the learners of this school are,” said Olivier.

He said he found it to be quite a fulfilling experience being able to help the learners in any way that he could.

Olivier and his team will be cycling down to Durban October 21-24. Their goal for this year is to raise R100 000 for the school.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the 18 cyclists that will be taking part or donating can contact Meyer on 082 378 4465 or Olivier on 073 218 0954. Residents are also encouraged to contact Lombard on 083 535 3800 to buy cookies.

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