Furniture donation sees scholars pay it forward

Crawford College in La Lucia donated the furniture and equipment to Silindokuhle Creche and Pre-School, while a group of grade 9, 10 and 11 pupils donated their time to build work stations and install the required cabling.

Grace Ngcongo started Silindokuhle from her home in 2003, but when the health department closed her down, she moved the school into two shipping containers on a plot of land in Kingsburgh West. The school now boasts over 100 children in spacious classrooms.

“Grace is highly involved in her local community and is not afraid to step in and help wherever needed,” said grade 11 pupil, Caton Schutte. “Her giving nature influences those around her and that is why Crawford College decided to give back too.”

The project started with a visit to the creche to scout the premises and it was decided this would be an ideal home for the equipment and furniture which would serve the school, as well as the surrounding community.

The pupils spent hours screwing melamine boards and counter tops together, cutting holes with jigsaws, more screwing and then a bit of roof climbing. After many hours of learning new skills along the way, the workstations were finished and the cabling was laid.

“As students, we were reminded of the satisfaction one achieves when one gives back to a community, as well as the new skills learnt along the way and the fun one has while doing it,” said Caton.

“Thanks to the dedicated team for their hard work and perseverance and to the parents and teachers who supported this project. A special thank you to Falcon Electronics for their donation of the network cable and connectors. Our work with Grace is far from over and we look forward to other opportunities to support Silindokuhle in the future.”