SCHOOL LOSES FOREIGN DONATION
Shipment of equipment donated for township school to be destroyed
It’s unfortunate, but the clearing agent wanted us to pay too much
WHAT was to be the first Montessori preschool in a previously disadvantaged community had a spanner thrown in the works last month, setting the school’s opening date back.
The Lavel’ilanga Montessori Pre-School was set to receive a donation of secondhand Montessori equipment worth R15 000 from an Irish Montessori school last month, but due to a problem at customs the shipment is set to be destroyed.
This comes shortly before the pre-school was set to open its doors in January and offer the children of Walmer Township a different way of learning.
The Port Elizabeth Montessori School in Walmer, which had partnered with the Masifunde Changemaker Academy to help the non-profit organisation’s project get off the ground, was unaware that there were set structures in place in order to receive the shipment.
The school’s founding principal, Samantha Streak, said they were due to pick up the donation in the first week of last month, but when it arrived in South Africa they were asked for needed documentation.
“We were given the donation of secondhand Montessori equipment from a school in Ireland because the woman was retiring and closing her school down,” she said.
“We were not aware of the extent of paperwork needed and when the shipment arrived there were so many costs involved and so we were forced to abandon it.
“This is sad and devastating but I have to take some responsibility for not educating myself on it.
“I thought since the woman in Ireland was covering all the costs I didn’t have to do anything but pick it up.”
She said because it was too expensive to try to work around the red tape and gain possession of the goods, they had opted to do some fundraising to help Masifunde instead.
“It is unfortunate that we can’t accept someone’s gen- erosity but the clearing agent wanted us to pay too much.”
After facing many challenges ahead of their grand opening, one being that the entire shipment will be destroyed, they also face a lack of Montessori-trained teach- ers who speak Xhosa.
The Masifunde Changemaker Academy was launched in September with the aim of set- ting up the first Montessori school operating in a township. The organisation’s managing director, Jonas Schu- macher, said they were excited to bring quality learning to disadvantaged children.
“We are set to open the school in July and, although we have been facing some challenges, it is not the end of the world,” he said.
“We have a belief that if we do something we do it properly, and in so doing we will start in the third term next year.”
Schumacher said about 30 children had been identified who would attend the partly funded school.
“It is exciting to be the first Montessori school in a township setting in the country,” he said.
“What we are most looking forward to seeing is what happens once these kids enter mainstream schools.
“Our aim is to ignite the child’s learning flame and, should we see them perform better in a mainstream setting, we will look to roll out more schools,.”
The school will cater for children aged between three and six, preparing them for mainstream grades.