10 Nov 2021

Tonota Junior Secondary school pupils have early Christmas presents thanks to two groups of good Samaritans.

A team comprising women from Tonota as well as the school’s Class of 1992 recently donated toiletry, stationery, 25 litres of hand sanitisers and 50 boxes of masks to the school respectively.

Tonota Local Women team Chairperson, Ms Khabe Olaotse said the group existed to provide support to meet the needs of residents of Tonota and surrounding areas.

It is to this end, she said, the group extended a helping hand to deserving learners.

“We are committed to continue to extend our gesture to other deserving schools in and around Tonota,” she said.

Ms Olaotse also commended fellow donors being Tonota Junior Secondary School Class of 1992, saying their donation would go a long way in improving the welfare of learners as well as their academic performance.

She thus made a clarion call to all and sundry to join hands and contribute to the education sector as per the aspirations of Vision 2036.
 

The wellbeing of a pupil, she noted was not sole the responsibility of the teacher but a joint effort between the teacher and the community.

She also implored the pupils to take their education seriously because it would benefit them at the end.

Representative of the Tonota CJSS Class of 1992, Ms Rebecca Ngake said they had always treasured their former school.

She said the donation marked the beginning of a long journey of partnership with the school for improved academic results.

The Schoolhead, Ms Maria Mbulawa expressed gratitude as she received donations, which she said would help restore the dignity of learners and boost their morale during examinations.

She said some of the pupils came from less privileged families and thus struggled to buy items such as stationery.

She said instances where a girl pupil missed classes ‘because she got her monthly menstruation and did not have pads to use’ would be a thing of the past.

The donations, according to Ms Mbulawa demonstrated the importance of unity between the school and the community in education.
 

In his closing remarks, Kgosi Lekono Malabola of Malabola ward in Tonota said they were happy about the gesture by the benefactors and echoed other speakers’ sentiments that the donations would restore learners’ dignity.  Ends