Overview
Silethukukhanya Secondary School in the Dukuduku Forest has grown from 300 pupils in 1998 to over 1,000 students, thanks to a range of sustainable projects funded by local organisations and businesses, including a new soccer field with lighting from the Woolworths Trust. The 18-month project also included the installation of a borehole and water system, providing fresh water for the school and its facilities. With support from Mpilonhle, East Coast Architects, and Charlize Theron’s Africa Outreach Project, the initiative aims to enhance education and community involvement, using sports as a tool for health education and social development.
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An enthusiastic principal, an appreciative community and pupils have seen the small rural school grow from about 300 pupils in 10 classrooms in 1998 to more than 1 000 pupils, a domestic science block and science and biology laboratories today.
The pride taken in ensuring the sustainability of projects initiated at Silethukukhanya Secondary School – situated in the Dukuduku Forest near St Lucia in Mkhanyakude District – by individuals, organisations and business has seen many initiatives implemented at the school, including the new soccer field with lighting funded by the Woolworths Trust. Included in the project was the construction of a borehole, pumps and tanks, which will not only provide water for maintaining the soccer field but also fresh, clean water to the school.
Taps
Toilets can now flush without the need of carrying buckets of water and, for the first time, pupils can use the taps in their domestic science and science labs. The 18-month project was inspired by Singaporean architect Swee Hong Ng’s winning entry in the 2005 Index Design for Life Award. This competition, organised by Architecture for Humanity, a US-based non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting architectural solutions to humanitarian crises, challenged entrants to develop a sustainable design for a youth sports facility and HIV/Aids outreach centre.
Trustee of the Woolworths Trust, Pieter Twine, said they had heard about the project at the Design Indaba in 2007 from Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity, and felt it was an ideal opportunity for the trust to help create sustainable schools in disadvantaged areas.
“The project is also aligned with the Woolworths ‘good business journey’ commitment to social development in South Africa,” said Twine.
“It is so important for pupils to have a space where they can focus on physical activity and team sports. As the field is lit, we would like to see a night league started in which the community can become involved.”
Relationship
Silethukukhanya principal Bheki Nomandla said the soccer field would be an enormous benefit to his pupils. “It is important for pupils to have a space where they can focus on physical activity and team sports. The physical activity helps them concentrate better in class and the sport creates a team spirit. The community also gets involved, which strengthens the relationship between the community and the school.”
Other partners in the project are Mpilonhle, a non- governmental organisation with mobile units that bring health and specialised education services to rural schools and communities in the area.
Mpilonhle also managed and co-ordinated the implemen- tation of the project; East Coast Architects assisted with the . design; and Charlize Theron’s Africa Outreach Project provided additional funding for the project.
Umkhanyakude District Mayor Laurence Mthombeni, who is also chairman of the Mpilonhle board, said this project was an example in which “private and public groups come together to provide a lasting legacy for the community”.
“It will crucially help address the issue of Aids prevention by integrating Mpilonhle’s health activities with the sports activities that the field provides,” he said.
Twine said that the more they learnt about the school and its remarkable principal, the more determined they were to “do what we could to help them”. “The kids themselves are our greatest motivation, they really want to change their circumstances and create a better future for themselves.”
