At the turn-off to Sungabala there stood a sad and roofless sandstone barn. Built with blocks hewn from the surrounding hills, this lovely old building had stood empty for many a year. At last it has emerged from its chrysalis and burst upon the valley as our beautiful new primary school – The Royal Drakensberg Primary School. Standing proud and glowing in the sun, this double-storey thatched building looks out over the valley it hopes to serve.
We believe that there is a great need for holistic education of a world class standard in our area. Conditions in these rural areas are poor and the teachers lack resources and infrastructure. We feel that an established private school, which is properly staffed and managed, will go a long way to giving children the necessary grounding to reach their maximum potential.
To this end we opened our little school this year and have enrolled 16 children. Seven of these children are close relatives of our own staff and their fees have been sponsored. We are hoping to find sponsorship for more children from disadvantaged homes who have academic potential which otherwise would not be realised. Providing these children with a good primary school education will help them to gain access to good secondary schools in Pietermaritzburg and so give them a chance to excel in life. Hopefully they will then be able and willing to give back in some way to the community in which they grew up.
At present we have a pre-primary group of 12 children and a Reception/Year One group of 4 children. We hope to grow a grade each year and establish a primary school that will take the children up to Grade 7 (12 – 13 years of age). In time we will need to move the present school down the road so that it is more accessible to others in the community. We have started it here where we can keep the costs as low as possible.
If you would like to know more about this exciting project, or perhaps pop down to see it all in action, please contact Megan. Our staff at the Entertainments Desk will help you find her.
WITH PRIVILEGE COMES RESPONSIBILITY,
WITH RESPONSIBILITY COMES SACRIFICE