Rural school near Greytown pleads for safe toilets after storm damage

A storm that hit Sikulwazi Secondary School in Muden, outside Greytown, last year left more than damaged buildings; it deprived pupils of safe, dignified toilets. The rural school, one of many across KwaZulu-Natal, still struggling with sanitation failures, has issued a public plea for help. It is appealing for donations of building materials and labour, or for mobile toilets, to restore basic sanitation and protect the dignity and safety of pupils.

According to the school, last year’s strong winds further weakened already fragile infrastructure, leaving existing toilet facilities unusable. Pit toilets were exposed, with no structures to provide privacy or dignity. Although temporary measures were attempted, they proved wholly inadequate, leaving hundreds of boys without functional sanitation.

The school said the situation has become unbearable. “Last year’s heavy winds damaged our infrastructure, and we are struggling to provide safe facilities for our learners, especially our boys, who do not have proper toilets,” the principal said in a written plea to the community. The school’s matric pass rate for the class of 2025 was 95,8%.

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Parents said teachers and pupils had worked hard and deserved support. This is a secondary school with older children. We cannot expect them to relieve themselves in open toilets, exposed to other pupils, and then wonder why bullying becomes a problem.

“Our children need safe and dignified toilets. We are pleading with anyone who can assist to help restore dignity at this school,” said parent Mbali Dlamini. Sikulwazi Secondary’s plight reflects a wider crisis The Witness has documented extensively over the years: the continued reliance on unsafe, inadequate, or collapsing sanitation facilities in KwaZulu-Natal schools. Despite repeated government commitments to eradicate pit toilets, hundreds of schools, particularly in rural areas, still depend on dangerous sanitation systems or lack proper facilities altogether.

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