PERDEKRAAL EAST WINDFARM
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Local school benefits from newly built admin office MATJIESRIVIER NGK Primary School is celebrating the expansion of its infrastructure and classroom facilities. This small Karoo school recently received a newly built admin office, funded by Perdekraal East Wind farm, which is enabling the school to conduct administrative tasks and safely store records. Furthermore, the old admin room will be converted into a library and computer lab classroom for the learners to help bridge the digital learning gap. “We are very happy with the new admin office. This newly constructed space has become a haven and beacon of hope for learners, parents, and teachers. As a result, their spirits have been lifted, and their confidence has increased,” said School Principal, Mr Franse. Initially, the foundation phase building was used as the general office, but the space was not ideal for learning as visitors had to pass through classrooms to reach the school principal’s office, causing interruptions. With the new office space, the school is now able to use part of the existing classroom as a computer
lab. This new lab will be a valuable addition to the school, as learners will have the opportunity to gain digital literacy and technology skills. Moreover, learning how to use computers and software is essential in preparing learners for life after they graduate school. “We are proud to have been part of the Matjiersrivier Primary School infrastructure project. This project has improved the appearance of the school and it will change people’s perception of farm schools. This funding is in line with our mission to promote quality education and to provide the needed help for children to gain equal access to education,” concluded JoAnne Brown, Economic Development Manager at Perdekraal East Wind Farm. Despite being located in a rural area, Matjiesrivier Primary is an impressive school that has produced many successful learners. One such learner, Andrea van Rooi, currently completing her honours in Education at the University of the Western Cape, spoke at the launch of the new admin office, encouraging the young learners to not let their pasts dictate where they go in life.
New kitchen brings joy to school learners and staff CERES Secondary School learners and teachers are delighted to have a new dedicated kitchen, which was handed over to the school on 15 February 2022. With this fully equipped kitchen, the school can now provide learners with two nutritional meals per day in a safer and more efficient way, helping learners perform better academically and generally enjoy their schooling more. School Principal, Mrs Wilrozet Strauss expressed her gratitude for the new kitchen, which was funded through Perdekraal East Wind Farm’s socio-economic development programme. The kitchen provides better and more secure working conditions for the kitchen staff. “This kitchen has already brought our learners and teachers so much joy. Since the new kitchen handover, we have seen a significant improvement in our learner’s demeanour, the motivation of our kitchen staff, and the school at large. The staff can cook in a safer space and the equipment is more conducive to preparing quality food. Overall, it is a more pleasant and comfortable working environment, and the learners can enjoy nutritionally balanced meals,” she said. Whilst funding has been provided by the local wind farm, the project is implemented in partnership with Breadline Africa, a NGO that is impacting learning environments in a similar way, across the country. Furthermore, this project has been supported by the Western Cape Education Department, which ensured that the kitchen is equipped with essential items. Previously, the kitchen staff operated from the school hall without any equipment to prepare cooked meals for the learners. With the funding of this prefab-kitchen, as well as the essential kitchen items provided by the Western Cape Education Department, the kitchen staff can now operate in safer and healthier working conditions to prepare nutritious meals, benefiting 567 learners at the school. “It gives us great pride to have been able to help Ceres Secondary School, as it belongs to quintile four* and is solely funded by the local government. Children in this area typically come from disadvantaged backgrounds and may arrive at school without food, making it difficult for them to concentrate on their work and learn. So, we, together with Breadline Africa, decided to step in and assist the school by providing a school kitchen which will assist in relieving hunger and improve learning,” concluded JoAnne Brown, Economic Development Manager at Perdekraal East Wind Farm.
Newly renovated classrooms for learners THE learners and teachers at Laastedrif NGK Primary School were thrilled to start the 2022 academic year in their newly renovated classrooms. The construction project, which was initiated by the school’s principal and commenced late 2021, replaced asbestos class structures to make way for newly built brick classrooms. Overall learners and teachers at this Ceres school, are pleased to have returned to a better learning environment that is safer and more conducive to studying. “Asbestos is not an ideal material for classrooms, not only because of the possible long-term health impact, but because the classrooms get very hot in summer, which severely restricts academic activities. We found that due to the lack of air conditioning, the classrooms became more humid than brickbuilt rooms, resulting in lethargy and general fatigue amongst our learners making it difficult to concentrate for extended periods of time,” said Mr September, School Principal, Laastedrif NGK Primary School. Funded by Perdekraal East Wind Farm, in collaboration Laastedrif Boerdery and headed by the school’s principal, Mr September, the renovation of this primary school, with over 30 learners from the surrounding community, included plastering and painting of the classrooms, which was not previously possible with the asbestos walls.
“We as educators can now create a proper and inviting classroom atmosphere for our young learners. The brick classrooms aren’t as hot in the extreme summer heat and will be warmer during winter. It no longer rains into the classrooms and learners enjoy the new classrooms and school infrastructure improvements as much as the educators. We are very grateful and proud of this accomplishment,” added Mr September. This project forms as part of the Wind Farm’s Asset Based Community Development programme, which has a keen focus on mobilising communities. “We are very proud to have been involved in this project. Our goal has always been to help provide children with access to equitable education. Furthermore, we not only were able to support this school building project, but also a pro-active collaboration between the public and private sector. We believe working together leads to achieving results faster,” concluded Jo-Anne Brown, Economic Development Manager at Perdekraal East Wind Farm.
We are very grateful and proud
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH CLEAN ENERGY