Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Young woman on a mission to bring hope to her home village
SHE SAW how children from her home village walked barefoot to school with torn uniforms.
Determined to change their situation, Zimkhitha Ngwenya, who lives in Cape Town, collected school shoes to donate to pupils at Sompa Primary School in Xorana, Mqanduli, in the Eastern Cape.
She also collected sanitary towels for pupils.
While on her donation drive last year, Ngwenya noticed school books were lying on the floor and not all the pupils had books.
Armed with nothing but hope, she made it her mission for her village school to have a proper library with enough books and bookshelves.
The 28-year-old started collecting books and worked on a plan for the school to get proper book shelves.
“I saw a great need for bookshelves because of the manner in which their workbooks and textbooks were packed,” said Ngwenya.
“The library initiative started in October when a company called Connect took interest in the project and we launched a book drive to collect books from all their employees and partners throughout the country.”
Ngwenya also asked for donations through her Facebook page and managed to get books from friends.
“Initially, the library was for the school but through the donations and seeing the library as a need in the village we have managed to get books for pupils ranging from early childhood to matric.
“The library will not only cater for Sompa Primary School but for all the surrounding schools and communities,” she said.
Eight schools in the area will benefit from the library, thanks to Ngwenya’s hard work.
At the opening of the new library the whole village celebrated what the young woman had done for them.
Grade 2 pupil Ayola Ngwenya said the new library would not only help them to access more books but would inspire them.
“We will be inspired to read and we will have access to more books. This is really a great moment for the whole village. We never had a library before,” said Ayola.
Village resident Esethe Mondile was close to tears as she spoke about how the library would change lives.
“When
I think about the difficulties we grew up with. We would cross to other villages just to access books. I am so happy I do not know whether to cry or jump for joy.
“Children will now have something to do after school, they will have an interest in reading because there are books,” said Mondiwe.
Ngwenya said on the day of the official opening she was overwhelmed with emotions, seeing the whole community united and the school kids overjoyed.