Globe-trotting engineer digs deep for his childhood alma mater
He may have become a globetrotting engineer, but a former Gqeberha resident has not forgotten his roots — and, thanks to his generosity, Sydenham Primary School is about to get a major boost with the installation of a borehole.
Former pupil Schaun Young, 42, hopes his intervention will spark more of the same from others.
Speaking yesterday from Zanzibar, where he was quarantining en route to a sixmonth secondment in Dubai, Young said he had just received the invoice he had been expecting for the installation of a borehole at the school.
“The aim is that the borehole will allow them to water their playing field. Because of the cost and also because of the drought and water restrictions, they have not been able to do so for some time and it is in bad shape,” he said.
“Part of the ethos of the school is that they get to know their pupils on the playing field as well as in the classroom — so the aim is to fix the field.
“They will also be able to fill their swimming pool for the first time in years.
“My hope is that having the capacity to do these things will boost the pride of the school which more than ever is a beacon of hope in the Sydenham community.”
Young pledged R53,000 towards the project.
“I will be putting through my donation this afternoon, and then they will contract the necessary service provider to drill and equip the borehole.”
Young attended Sydenham Primary from grades R to 6 between 1984 and 1990.
He then moved on to several high schools and matriculated at Alexander Road High.
He studied engineering at the University of Cape Town, did his honours at the University of Pretoria, played professional rugby in Portugal and for the Lions Sevens side in Gauteng, and completed a leadership course at Harvard University in the US.
He now works for German engineering firm Umlaut, heading up their Africa Middle East regional desk.
He said the borehole project came about after he found out from old friends in Gqeberha that their childhood alma mater was struggling.
“Sydenham Primary was where I got my first building blocks for life, where I scored my first try, from where I walked home to my grandparents each afternoon.
“I realised it was a forgotten part of my life and probably the lives of many other people as well.
“I knew I had to pay homage.” He said he had phoned the school and arranged to meet the principal.
“I walked around the grounds with him and we talked about the various challenges and how best I could help and we settled on the borehole for which they had already done a feasibility study.
“My idea is to inspire others who have passed through the school to consider leaving a legacy of some kind, whether it’s putting in some time and effort to paint a wall or making some kind of donation, I know it will all go a long way.”
Sydenham Primary School principal Litha Nkayi said the school had 1,100 pupils and was one of a handful of schools with the lowest fees in the Bay.
“The borehole will be a great benefit.
“We always wanted this but we could not afford it until this good Samaritan came along.”
Swimming pools can be filled using borehole water during the drought.
“The swimming pool is huge, but it is a white elephant while it stands empty.
“We need to assess the state of the pumps but the aim now will be to fill the pool,” Nkayi said.