Victoria Girls Primary School celebrated Mandela Day last week by collecting toothbrushes, soap, face-clothes, and non-perishable food for Raphael Centre.
Victoria Girls Primary School celebrated Mandela Day last week by collecting toothbrushes, soap, face-clothes, and non-perishable food for Raphael Centre.
Nola Elliot, one of the centre’s project coordinators, said that these are all essential items for children facing the challenges of living with family members dealing with HIV/Aids.
This initiative was spearheaded by Lindsay Abrahams of the school’s caring committee, which has operated for the past three years and donates money raised from events like Civvies Day to worthy charities in Grahamstown.
But this time they decided to hold a special event on Mandela Day, to aid the Early Childhood Project (ECP) that the centre coordinates.
“Everybody brought something,” said Victoria Primary Acting Principal Colette Kaiser. The ECP concentrates on educating and developing young children through a variety of prevention strategies.
In addition, the project works closely with local clinics in ensuring that the childrens’ antiretroviral treatment is properly managed.
There are over 200 children under the project’s wing, some of whom are the children of the 40 permanent members at the centre.
The presentation of the boxes of gifts took place just after the girls’ break time so everybody was present for the collaboration. Everyone joined in for a group photograph afterwards.
