Social media drive clothes needy pupils

About 60 young faces in Dimbaza were left smiling last week when they got shirts on their backs and socks on their feet for the new school year.

The pupils, ranging from pre-primary school age to high school, benefitted from a social media drive initiated by a group of friends based in the township.

The Help A School Kid project is the brainchild of Asanda Ngcipe who said the initiative had started with an idea to host a school book-covering session with his friends for local pupils at the Dimbaza Community Hall three weeks ago.

Speaking to the GO!, Ngcipe said the turnout had been completely unexpected.

"The hall was packed with scholars from grade R to grade 12 and we spoke with them.”

He said they would have had to wait until their parents' payday to have their books covered and others didn’t have the slightest hope.

“Through the stories they shared, we realised that there was a great need for assistance. We then decided to do a little bit more than just covering books for these children.

“We started collecting basic school necessities like school shirts, jerseys, tunics and even shoes," Ngcipe said.

The group took to social media and sought the community's support through donations and in just two weeks they had collected enough school uniforms to clothe about 60 scholars.

“We would like to pass our heartfelt thanks to everyone who heeded our call and helped in any way," Ngcipe said.