City kids receive impressive education
JOHANNESBURG – CityKidz is setting a high standard for schools in the inner city
In the inner city, CityKidz is a place where children are getting a top-notch education and starting bright academic futures.
CityKidz is a social initiative by Afhco, a property development and management company that provides quality affordable rental accommodation to address social needs in the Johannesburg inner city.
“The whole objective was to target inner city children and disadvantaged kids because we believed that with the rapid growth and urbanisation taking place in the inner city, the quality and availability of schooling was very limited,” explained the chairman and CEO of Afhco, Renney Plit.
“Uunfortunately, the government doesn’t understand the growth of the number of people living permanently in the city and the growth of the number of children and we’re trying to fill the gap.”
The building in which the school is housed is believed to have been built in the 30s and was previously used as a school for Indian children under the rule of the apartheid government.
The school opened with only 60 children and today boasts more than 500 children in attendance, with that number set to jump by 200 next year.
Since acquiring the building and – more recently – the old industrial building next to it, the property management company has made great strides in providing private school education to children who deserve a bright academic future.
With the need for this facility being evident in the community, the school is in the process of having their new building converted into a hall and administration offices so that their current 23-classroom situation can be increased to accommodate next year’s arrivals.
The school was ranked in the top 10 in the government’s 2015 Annual National Assessment, a standardised national assessment for languages and mathematics in grades 4 to 6, and in literacy and numeracy for grades 1 to 3.
The school not only provides academic but also physical stimulation for the scholars, with a netball court and 5-a-side astro-turf soccer field having been built on the premises.
Plit, along with his brother and business partner, Wayne, have invested upwards of R8 million into the initiative and are in need of help.
Taking place on 25 May, Afhco will hold their annual fundraiser at the Barnyard Theatre in Rivonia and everyone is encouraged to buy tickets for the show Viva Las Vegas and contribute towards the development of this much-needed schooling initiative.
Details: www.citykidz.co.za
