Christel House in drive to buy a school bus
The school has managed to raise R50 000 and still needs R500 000
FOR Christel House Academy bus driver Christiaan Adams, transporting the pupils to and from school is “a big pleasure”.
Adams oversees the transport operations at the school and has been a Christel House bus driver for seven years.
“I literally get to see the children grow up. Providing safe transport to them each and every day helps them become successful students and I’m very happy to be a part of their success,” he said.
Christel House SA, a nonprofit school serving impoverished communities in Cape Town, continued to provide safe and uninterrupted transportation services to its 755 pupils who come from communities such as Langa, Delft and Philippi during the recent nationwide bus strike.
Christel House is a global charity that operates eight learning centres around the world with a single mission: to break the cycle of poverty.
The school in Ottery is the only centre in Africa and offers free scholarships to children from the 20 impoverished areas in Cape Town that it serves.
The school also provides, health care, daily meals, guidance counselling, college and careers support, and daily transportation to all of its pupils.
With the aim of giving more children the opportunity to attend Christel House, the school has launched a “Drive out Poverty” fund-raising campaign to raise funds for an additional school bus.
Last week network service provider Cell C teamed up with the school to help in its efforts to buy the bus.
This was after the school’s principal, Ronald Fortune, pushed his own personal boundaries and took part in the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, determined to raise funds to purchase the school bus.
The school has 18 buses and each bus travels up to 800 km per month on average.
The school has managed to raise R50 000 and still needs to raise another R500 000 in order to buy a bus.
Grade 11 pupil Jesse Stellemacher said: “Without the Christel House transport, I would not be able to attend school and my parents would need to cover the cost of my transport.
“During times like the bus strike, I would not feel safe travelling in public transport.
“Every day, for the past 11 years, the school bus picked me up on time and safely dropped me at home after school,” she said.
Donations can be made online through Christel House South Africa’s website at http://southafrica. christelhouse.org/ or by contacting Kristen Matthews at 021 704 9417.