Grade Rs and 1s at two schools receive toiletry packs through the WCED’s Nelson Mandela Day initiative

Statement by Minister Debbie Schäfer, Minister of Education Western Cape

This morning I visited Portia Primary School and Hyde Park Primary School to hand over toiletry packs to the Grade R and Grade 1 learners. The packs were donated by the staff of the WCED’s Head Office, district offices, and the Ministry of Education, who took part in a drive as their commitment for Nelson Mandela Day. The drive was organised by the Transform to Perform team at Head Office.

I thank all of the staff members who contributed packs to the drive. Each pack contains a toothbrush and toothpaste, facecloth, soap, tissues, and a toy or sweet treat. A total of 130 packs were handed out to the learners of Portia PS, and a further 169 packs were handed to the learners at Hyde Park PS.

I also had the opportunity to speak to the learners about values in our schools, and how important it is to treat each other with kindness and respect – something we all need to do more of in these difficult times.

As part of the Transform to Perform intervention strategy, we have asked each school to choose the specific values they would like to see represented in their school, and to teach the learners about. I was pleased to see that both Portia PS and Hyde Park PS had their chosen values displayed for all to see. And it is evident from how the principals, staff and learners interact with each other that these values have been wholeheartedly embraced – something that Mr Mandela himself would have appreciated and applauded.

I really hope that we can make this an even bigger project next year

Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline
Spokesperson to Minister Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape Ministry of Education
Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za