In honour of Mandela Day, squatters around the Cape of Good Hope could pick and choose from a range of second-hand clothes and shoes donated by the Eco Club learners from Intsebenziswano Senior Secondary School.
The learners accompanied by three teachers arrived with boxes full of goods which they’ve collected from fellow learners, teachers and non-teaching staff at school as well as the community in Philippi.
Teacher Unathi Bheme says: “It has been cold for the past few weeks, so we reached out to the school and asked them to donate their old clothes to the needy.
“The motive is to keep the homeless warm, especially with this cold front that we don’t know when it is going to end.
“We are teaching our learners the spirit of ubuntu and to value another person and not be selfish. We want them to know that they should also care about those around them as well and by involving them we are teaching them to spread love.”
Grade 12 learner Inathi Ngomane, 18, said she’s had a change of heart seeing the living conditions of mense living on the street.
Inathi says: “We want to be change agents, so giving back to our people is a good feeling but seeing the situation they live in is a wake-up call that we need to do more and bring more change because we live in societies where change is a requirement.”
There were smiles and appreciation all around from the recipients as they had the opportunity to “shop” for what they like.
Portia Abrahams, 39 said she has been living at the Castle for ten years.
She says: “We struggle a lot to get clothes and shoes because we don’t get help anywhere so what the school has done for us, we appreciate it a lot.”