A donation of school shoes and socks has brought relief to the parents of pupils at Ashburton Primary School, many of whom are unemployed and rely on social grants. A total of 32 pupils, most from the Sacca informal settlement, benefitted from the donation during a community outreach programme held on Monday morning. Parents said the rising cost of living had made it increasingly difficult to afford basic school necessities, forcing some children to attend school without proper footwear.
Thobekile Thobeni, a parent from Sacca, said she had no income and had been worried about how she would provide shoes for her child. “I did not have money to buy school shoes. This donation has helped us a lot,” she said.
Another parent, Cetyiswa Nikizwa, said she relies solely on a social grant to support her family and was struggling to buy shoes for her two children. We survive on grants. I did not know where I would get the money. Visible policing commander and acting station commander Lieutenant-Colonel Kholeka Zwane said many pupils were found walking long distances to school without shoes.
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