[caption id="attachment_37155" align="alignright" width="405"] WINTER WARMTH: Julia Mbambo, founder of non-profit organisation Sihlambesinye Community Services, with some of the children who received new school shoes over the weekend. Picture: BRIAN WITBOOI[/caption]
TODAY 100 pupils in Port Elizabeth's Walmer township will take the cold winter roads to their classrooms in brand new school shoes.
Pupils from Walmer High School and John Masiza and Walmer primary schools – who walked to school barefoot or in old and torn shoes – saw Good Samaritans go the extra mile to make sure that the feet of children in Walmer were kept warm this winter.
Taking care of the children of Walmer township is a calling for Julia Mbambo, founder of non-profit organisation Sihlambesinye Community Services, who heads the back to school campaign.
As many of the children come from poor homes – some the heads of households from as young as 13 – they all had one thing in common: the desire for a good education, but without proper shoes to take them to school.
Mbambo said: "Working with orphans and vulnerable youngsters from the area we found that buying school shoes comes second to buying food since food keeps them alive.
"Most of the kids who were blessed with shoes are orphans who live with family members and do not receive any foster care grants.
"If you look at what their needs are, getting them these shoes is but a drop in the ocean."
The 15 women from Sihlambesinye received the shoes through a sponsorship from Absa. Apart from keeping the pupils' feet warm, they hope that having proper shoes will keep them at school.
"Not having school shoes led to many youngsters dropping out of school. Others feel so embarrassed for wearing torn shoes that they are afraid of making friends out of fear of being teased," Mbambo said.
John Masiza Primary School pupil Wongalethu Veto, 15, said he was thankful to finally have his own shoes to wear to school. While he shyly looked at his feet tucked into a pair of torn navy takkies, he said: "In summer it was okay to walk barefoot although I was sometimes afraid that the children would tease me. In the winter it is bad. I'm still a kid and I might get sick, especially when it rains and my feet aren't covered."
Sandile Gavu, 16, of Walmer Primary School, shared his friend's excitement.
"I always felt sad not having school shoes, especially when you look at the other children's feet. Because I didn't have good shoes I would sometimes stay away from school, but now it will be better. I want to be a teacher when I'm big so it is important that I stay in school," he said.
The women from Sihlambesinye gathered Wongalethu and Sandile together with the other 98 children at Walmer High School over the weekend to hand them their shoes.
"The excitement on their faces makes the work we do worthwhile," Mbambo said. - Alvené du Plessis