It takes more than a pandemic to stop the celebration of the placement of new infrastructure, and on 16 February 2022, the Breadline Africa team joined the festivities at Sophumelela Educare Centre as they launched a new 6-metre container classroom.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the donors were not able to attend, but the team made sure to recognise the generosity of Dudobi (Pty) Ltd, Dan Quirke and Pieter Gerard Stichting amongst others, who made this project possible.Principal, Nomandla Sikithi, welcomed everyone and said, “I am very thankful for what Breadline Africa and its donors did for our school. The classroom you gave us made a big difference so that we can separate the children into age groups.”
One of the parents stood up to speak. “I am Nolusindiso Booi, mother of Fihlumife Booi. I am here to thank Breadline Africa’s donors for giving us a safe place for our kids. It is wonderful because our kids are going to be safe now. I am thankful … Thank you so much,” she said.
The centre manager, Sibonile Tubeni added his gratitude: “On behalf of our management, teachers and the community I would love to say thank you to Breadline Africa and your donors. It is a great honour for Sophumelela Educare Centre to be the beneficiary of this container classroom. Before it arrived, it was very difficult to teach effectively because there were too many children in one classroom and it was too small. Now that we have the new classroom, it makes teaching very easy. Thank you – we appreciate it so much.”
The children sang the national anthem, and Ms Sikithi and Mr Tubeni cut the ribbon to officially open the classroom. Their gratitude and joy were clearly visible as they explored the new building.
