Sedibeng Primary School, in the Northern Cape’s Sedibeng village, lies an hour outside of Kuruman. Established in 1971, the school has weathered many changes in the political landscape.
The principal and his staff attended Sedibeng Primary as pupils in its early years and have been instrumental in building the education establishment into what it is today.
The principal and staff were happy to celebrate the arrival of their very own Mandela Day container library
But the impoverished Sedibeng community continues to face multiple challenges. At school level, overcrowded classrooms make teaching very difficult, with an average of 60 children in each class. The school runs a feeding scheme and learners get one meal per day, which is served at 10am. This is often the only meal that learners of Sedibeng Primary get.
In addition, approximately 30% of learners at the school are orphans; they go home to an empty house or live with extended family. The high mortality rate of the working-age group is often due to asbestos-related illness or HIV/AIDS.
Even though conditions are dire, the principal and staff were happy to celebrate the arrival of their very own Mandela Day container library on 5 September 2014. Sponsored by the Public Investment Corporation and launched by Breadline Africa and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the container library is the 48th installation under the Mandela Day libraries project umbrella, and will serve the school’s learners and community members in the surrounding Sedibeng village.
During the launch ceremony, an educator at the school, Mrs Obanyeng, spoke of the hardships students faced during the apartheid years, one of which was never being exposed to a library.
At school level, overcrowded classrooms make teaching very difficult, with an average of 60 children in each class
The Director of Curriculum Support in the Northern Cape, Ntombi Mashodi, was delighted at the launch of the library and promised to make sure the facility serves not only the school, but the community as well.
Mankete Moroka, Communications Officer at the Public Investment Corporation, spoke directly to the learners, motivating them to make the right choices and use what they have access to to fulfil their dreams.
The school is certainly a worthy recipient of a container library. Representatives from Breadline Africa and the Public Investment Corporation left the launch event assured that their investment was needed and well placed, and is sure to impact Sedibeng village positively, given the commitment and dedication of the school staff and community.
See gallery here.
