Media statement: Solidarity Helping Hand hands out 4 000 schoolbags to needy Grade Ones
Media statement
Solidarity Helping Hand
12 January 2012
Solidarity Helping Hand hands out 4 000 schoolbags to needy Grade Ones
Solidarity Helping Hand will be handing out approximately 4 000 schoolbags to needy Grade Ones nationwide.
Since the Schoolbag Project was started in 2007, 12 500 schoolbags have been provided to needy Afrikaans Grade Ones. The demand for schoolbags for underprivileged children increases every year and spans the entire country.
Applications for more than 1 000 schoolbags were received from schools in the coastal regions.
In the Western Cape, almost 700 schoolbags were applied for and at one school alone, 200 bags will be handed out. Just four of the schools requested fewer than 10 schoolbags, while the majority applied for more than 20 bags.
Eastern Cape schools applied for approximately 400 schoolbags. Two schools applied for 60 bags each, while the majority applied for a large number of bags.
Requests for about 2 000 schoolbags were received from schools in the Gauteng region.
“Many parents must choose between buying either food, or stationery for their children. Poverty is often a struggle for dignity and self-respect. It’s a humiliating experience for a child when he does not have whatever his classmate next to him has,” says Lindie Strydom, project coordinator. “A schoolbag and all the stationery needed for Grade One will give a needy child self-confidence on his first day of school. Grade One is the most important year of a child’s life.”
Every schoolbag contains the basic stationery for Grade One as recommended by an expert in the field of school readiness. The items include an abacus, a beanbag, a pencil case with pens and pencils and a whiteboard.
The purpose of the project is to ensure that eventually not a single Afrikaans Grade One pupil goes to school without the necessary stationery, as the right equipment can help children to get an education and break free from poverty. Helping Hand aims to break the cycle of poverty through a policy of upliftment through education. The policy starts with giving schoolbags to Grade Ones on their first day of school, followed by school guidance, career guidance and eventually bursary loans. Helping Hand strives to empower people to live out their calling and thereby make a positive contribution in their community.
The public can support the project in various ways:
- Text the word “tassie” to 34388 (R2/SMS) and an agent will contact you to find out what amount you would like to donate. The cost of a schoolbag is R200.
- Phone Helping Hand on 0861 25 24 23 or 012 644 4390 or visit the website www.helpinghandfund.co.za to get more information on the project.
- Make a donation. The banking details are as follows: Solidarity Helping Hand, Absa account: 407 225 0017, Centurion branch: 632 005. Quote “tassie” as reference. Please fax proof of payment to 086 218 3216.
Media contact person
Juanita du Preez
Solidarity Helping Hand
Tel: 012 644 4390
Cell: 074 500 3915
E-mail: juanita@helpendehand.co.za
Website: www.helpinghandfund.co.za
