The Tswellang Special School, in Joe Slovo, is collaborating with the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) to equip learners at the school with mobility and access at the school, by providing 10 wheelchairs to learners in need of them.

The Clips and Caps for Wheelchairs project will see the school and PSA collect plastic bottle tops and bread clips, which will be recycled, and will receive wheelchairs in return.

The project requires donations of either 450 kg of bottle tops, or 50 kg of bread tags per wheelchair, meaning a total of 4500 kg of bottle tops or 500 kg of tags are needed to supply the school with 10 wheelchairs. “We are trusting people to turn their plastic into wheelchairs,” said the principal at Tswellang, Verna Vorster.

The school relies on donations to supply wheelchairs to learners, as the school does not have the budget to buy them. PSA Provincial Manager, Aubrey Nappie, stated “we understand our responsibility in terms of social justice”, speaking of the PSA’s decision to take hands with Tswellang on this project.

When asked what this project would mean for learners at the school, Vorster explained, “When the school reopened, a mother brought her 14-year-old son to school on her back. When I asked her why, she explained that she could not afford a wheelchair and that she was just grateful that he has a wheelchair at the school.

That is what it means to the learners. When they are at school, they can move around freely”. Nappie explained the reason for the PSA’s involvement in the project. “This is actually a national project. All offices in South Africa are involved. “When Tswellang approached us, we said ‘Let’s do it together’ ”.

Bottle tops and bread tags can be donated at the school in Mohapi Street, Joe Slovo, or at the PSA Offices in First Avenue, Westdene, by 30 November

Warren Hawkins
warren@mahareng.co.za