A.F. Louw Primary School receives a facelift
28 July 2022
Stellenbosch University’s Facilities Management team adopted A.F. Louw Primary School as the beneficiary of their Mandela Day project.
Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July, the birthday of South Africa’s first democratic president, is an opportunity for all to make a difference in their communities.
Anne Tarr, A.F. Louw Primary School Principal, said she received a call during the school holidays notifying her that the school was considered for the project. “I initially met with their team where they assessed what needed to be undertaken. They then developed a proposal that was submitted to the Facilities Management Director. The proposal was accepted and on Mandela Day, a variety of teams descended on the school. Ms Aloma Fourie, an ex-parent, was one of the main driving forces.”
Tarr said many former learners and parents of current learners are on the staff of the Facilities Management Department and they, together with their suppliers and contractors, all volunteered their time and materials.
The benefactors stripped, sanded and polished the school hall floor, cleaned all drains with a high pressure cleaner, waterproofed a section of roof above the hall entrance, painted the inside of the Grade R classroom and the wooden roof beams around the building, sanded and sealed the metal frames for the sport benches and replaced the wooden planks on the benches at the sports field. They also installed LED lights in the corridors.
The school grounds also received attention with the grass being cut and overgrown areas cleaned up. A vegetable garden was created and the school will use the produce for their feeding scheme. Five trees have been planted around the school sports field.
Tarr said many other tasks were performed. “As a school, we are deeply indebted to the Facilities Management team from the University of Stellenbosch for selecting us to be the beneficiaries of their Mandela Day project. The day was an overwhelming one for those of us who were at school. We are still pinching ourselves but when we look around us, we can see that it actually did happen. All members of the AF Louw Primary School team are buoyed and encouraged and feel extremely blessed by the generosity that has been shown to us.”
The day’s activities were guided by two key principles – sustainability and accessibility. Tarr explained that non-educator staff received training with some of the tasks that were undertaken so that they could do it themselves going forward. The second key principle was to highlight to the learners that the university was accessible to them and that they could be a Stellenbosch University student one day.
“We then ‘paid if forward’ and our girl prefects spent 67 minutes packing ‘Jars of Hope’ that we will be donating to the Stellenbosch Night Shelter. The ingredients for these jars were donated by staff members.”
