Partnership to enhance child development and learning opportunities in the community
12 August 2021
The Attacq Foundation is proud to announce that it has concluded a three‐year “Adoption” agreement with Phuthumani Primary School. This partnership will see the school benefit from the construction of a new classroom, as part of a host of other infrastructure improvement initiatives. Child nutrition and development programmes are also core to how the Attacq Foundation will support Phuthumani.
Located in Thembisa, Phuthumani Primary School has been a central pillar of the local community, boasting an alumni that includes many community heroes and leaders. As a no fee school, Phuthumani caters to 1 366 learners and 40 dedicated teachers, ensuring that primary school children are afforded a safe, reliable place of learning. The school was founded on 18th August 1987 and is one of the oldest in the province.
Attacq’s relationship with Phuthumani began in 2020, when in collaboration with the Sage Foundation, they supported the school by donating Covid‐19 hygiene packs, renovating two classrooms and donating 230 school‐shoes and 100 training shoes with the help of Ackerman’s (Mall of Africa ) and the community at large.
“This three‐year adoption programme takes our relationship one step further. By formalising our relationship with the school – and proactively co‐creating solutions to pressing problems ‐ we hope to provide Phuthumani with the longer‐term certainty of support from committed partners. Our goal is to invest in the school thereby allowing them to plan for the future, giving them the room and resources to continue investing in their students,” says Danny Vermeulen, Attacq’s Transformation manager.
The Attacq Foundation and Phuthumani Primary School have reviewed the needs of the school and its learners, prioritising next steps for assistance. To this end, the Attacq Foundation will focus on the rehabilitation of existing classroom’s as well as a project for the construction of a new building that will consist of three classrooms.
The Principal, Mr Shadrack Hlatshwayo said that “The partnership will go a long way in ensuring that our learners get quality education in a conducive environment and through better skilled educators.”
Over the course of the adoption term, which commenced in July 2021, the Attacq Foundation and Phuthumani Primary will work together to identify key projects to assist the school meet its educational objectives.