DST honours Nelson Mandela by putting smiles on the faces of the less fortunate
There is nothing quite like a smile creeping across the face of a child, and former President Nelson Mandela's heart would have warmed at the sight of the Department's Atteridgeville outreach in his honour on 17 July.
The Department and its entities embraced the opportunity to make a difference as part of South Africa's Mandela Day celebrations, with Minister Naledi Pandor and Director-General Phil Mjwara leading a staff visit to Atteridgeville Child Welfare Centre in Pretoria.
Squeals of delight resonated through the centre as the Minister and Dr Mjwara started handing out donations of food, new clothes, and laptops.
The centre is involved in community development in the area, and works hard to prevent learners from dropping out of school by helping them with homework and providing food. It also provides support to orphans and other vulnerable children, ensuring that they have shelter, clothing and food.
In South Africa, a significant number of pupils drop out of school before they reach matric. Poverty and a lack of learning resources have been blamed for the dropout rate.
Ms Linda Nell, CEO of the centre, welcomed the gifts, saying that they would boost the children's morale and help them to learn.
"We are grateful for the laptops donated by the Minister," she said. "The centre is offering computer lessons to the kids to help them excel at their different schools."
Speaking to the children, teachers and residents, Minister Pandor urged high school learners, especially those in Grades 10 to 12, to consider taking maths and science as subjects, as the country needed more people with these skills.
"We should carry the spirit of Nelson Mandela forward through service, especially investing more in the education of our children," she said.
"Youth empowerment through education is key to achieving meaningful development in the country.We are working diligently towards establishing a diverse workforce of highly skilled young people in scientific and technological fields," said the Minister.
The DST and its entities also made a difference to Saulridge High School in Atteridgeville, by painting the classrooms. The school, one of the oldest schools in Atteridgeville, with a strong focus on mathematics, science and information technology, received furniture and materials to help improve the learning and teaching of these subjects.
Celebrated annually since 2009, Mandela Day is an international initiative to encourage people to take responsibility for improving one another's lives and addressing the world’s social injustices. Madiba, who died on 5 December 2013, aged 95, was South Africa's first black president.
