Cape Town - In the spirit spirit of Nelson Mandela International Day, homeless people living at the Cape of Good Hope precinct were spoilt for choice when they had the opportunity to pick and choose from a range of pre-loved clothing and shoes donated by Eco Club learners from Intsebenziswano Senior Secondary School yesterday.
The learners, accompanied by three of their teachers, arrived with boxes full of good-quality clothes and shoes, which they collected from learners, teachers and non-teaching staff, as well as the community in Philippi.
Teacher Unathi Bheme said: “It has been cold for the past few weeks in Cape Town, so we reached out to the school and asked them to donate their old clothes to the needy.
The motive is to keep the homeless warm, especially with this cold front that we don’t know when it is going to end.
“We are teaching our learners the spirit of ubuntu and to value another person and not be selfish. We want them to know that they should also care about those around them as well and by involving them we are teaching them to spread love.”
Bheme said they hoped to keep the initiative ongoing, not only on Mandela Day.
Grade 12 learner Inathi Ngomane, 18, said it touched her heart to see the living conditions of homeless people.
“We want to be change agents, so giving back to our people is a good feeling but seeing the situation they live in is a wake-up call that we need to do more and bring more change because we live in societies where change is a requirement.
“This was an initiative that was received very well because they are trying to survive whichever way they can,” Ngomane said.
There were smiles and appreciation all around from the recipients as they had the opportunity to shop around for what they liked.
Portia Abrahams, 39, said she has been living around the Castle for 10 years.
“I am so happy and excited because this doesn’t happen often with us.
“We struggle a lot to get clothes and shoes because we don’t get help anywhere, so what the school has done for us we appreciate it a lot.
“This is a once-off for us because after this we don’t know where our help will come from, but the clothes are very helpful,” said Abrahams.
marsha.dean@inl.co.za
Cape Argus