Orefile learners get backpacks for start of school year
Orefile learners get backpacks for start of school year
JANUARY 19, 2016 – Pretoria Forest Hill City shopping centre
Some 460 pupils from Orefile Primary School in Olievenhoutbosch had a weight lifted from their shoulders when they received sturdy backpacks to help get their school year off to a positive start.
The grade 4 to 7 learners were given the waterproof schoolbags, which were sponsored by the Forest Hill City shopping centre in Centurion, during a fun-filled ceremony on Friday.
Dancers and a marimba band from Pan African Music and Theatre Arts got the entertainment off to a lively start, while the highlight was certainly a performance by 2015 Idols winner Karabo Mogane. The 24-year-old, who volunteered to do his first ever school gig, performed five songs from his debut album Love is a Verb. Speaking after the event, school principal Clever Shikwambane said he was grateful to the sponsors and performers who made the day possible.
“They have shown love to the kids and gestures like this show that corporate South Africa does care. This gift of quality schoolbags will go a long way to helping the children and their families.”
Forest Hill City marketing manager Annah Moremela said it was imperative for the centre to give back to the community it served. “Education is top of our corporate social investment list and our role is to support our youth and complement public sector initiatives. “Our youth are the future and it is indeed in our hands to pave the path to a better South Africa.”
Orefile is one of the schools built as part of national government’s Strategic Integrated Projects programme. It became the first green school in Gauteng when it opened its doors in 2013. Built using alternative construction technologies, it was established to alleviate overcrowding issues at Philena Primary School, a prefabricated school that served the underprivileged community.
Also present at Friday’s handover to inspect the school’s progress were Johannesburg North district director for education Sipho Mkhulisi and member of the Tshwane mayoral committee Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke.
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Issued by: The News Lab
On behalf of: Forest Hill City Shopping Centre