“With unemployment being so rife in our communities, the cost of a school uniform means the difference between a family feeding itself for a week or a child going to school without one. In many cases, the burden falls on the schools which are forced to find a quick-fix solution to a long-term problem,” says Lindi Mthombeni, General Manager of Eskom’s Free State Operating Unit.
On Monday, 3 March 2014, Lindi and her team visited Waterbron Public School in Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein, to hand out 120 school uniforms that were donated by Eskom employees.
After visiting the school in November 2013 to hand over Christmas presents to the children as part of the Santa Shoebox project, Lindi realised that the need is much bigger than expected.
“We committed ourselves to collecting uniforms for the children. If a child compares herself to another child and finds that she doesn’t look good enough, she feels bad about herself. Some kids even drop out of school because they do not have the correct uniforms. We want the children to feel good about themselves and stay in school,” says Lindi.
But the support to the Waterbron learners doesn’t stop with this donation.
“We’re going back in winter to give the children shoes. I also made a commitment to go back to the shops to get more uniforms because everyone didn’t get,” says the GM.
“I am blessed to be associated with a great team here in the Free State. The employees are aware of the privilege of having employment and a salary at the end of the month.
They are in turn taking it upon themselves to share these blessings with those who are less fortunate.”
