Principal 2/9/22: 15 years of partnership and new opportunities

A primary school classroom in the upper Maphutseng Valley.

Under Ian Wake’s principalship, our school committed to raise $50,000 each year, for three years. A massive undertaking! The school community met this challenge head on and achieved this target through the great work of students and staff and the generosity of the wider school community. These funds were used to improve school buildings and provide teaching materials. Other projects that were supported during this time and the following years included a school lunch program, funding of a youth worker for the school and local church, establishing food security for orphaned children (being parented by teenage siblings or grandparents), chicken coops and other farming projects.

Under the leadership of past staff members Julie James and Tim Hewitt three trips to Lesotho were completed, two of them including teams of student ‘Maphutseng Ambassadors’.

The partnership did not end with the completion of first goal. Ongoing work raised funds for the construction of a bridge which provided safe passage across a nearby river. Many students cross the river each day to get to school and seasonal floods would prevent students from attending lessons for weeks at a time. Not only did the bridge allow students in the valley to attend regular lessons, it benefited the wider community.

Fundraising lead by Sharron Hall, Sylvia Morris and Jacquie Napper and over recent years has provided support to the Growing Nations agricultural college. This program provides training in sustainable conservation farming practices. Our school has also provided scholarships so that more students can afford to attend the High School (the government only funds education in the Primary years).