Through its ongoing schools rebuilding initiative, SiyakhaKabusha, P&G (Proctor & Gamble) has rescued the school year for thousands of learners in KwaZulu-Natal who were without proper learning facilities following the widely-reported 2021 July, when about 130 schools in the province were vandalised, looted and some even burnt down. At the time, the Basic Education Department said it did not have the budget to fix the schools, or to provide mobile classrooms.
Siphosethu Primary School Principal, Themba Sokhabase, who was visibly shaken by what had happened said at the time: “It is really sad that we find ourselves where we are today, given how hard we worked to ensure we provide safe and decent infrastructure to our learners.” He added, “Now everything we worked hard for and were proud to have achieved is destroyed, the learners’ records, the teachers’ and school records, they are all gone.”
P&G was deeply moved by those sentiments and stepped in to remedy the sad situation. Vilo Trska, Senior Vice President and General Manager for P&G Sub Sahara Africa, said this humanitarian gesture P&G is indicative of how much it deeply cares about the communities it serves and their most pressing needs. “We were aware that if we didn’t act immediately, it would become even more difficult to recover. So, we quickly committed to tackling the mammoth task, and together with our esteemed partners, we were able to assist and reach out to a number of KZN schools in the shortest amount of time.”
The company has been working hard with the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, to restore and rebuild some of the schools affected by the devastating riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
In December 2021, P&G launched the SiyakhaKabusha initiative, a Zulu saying which means ‘We are rebuilding’, to ensure that thousands of children were able to resume normal schooling as soon as possible this year.
Together with UNICEF, the National Education Collaboration Trust and the Department of Basic Education, the campaign identified five priority schools for repair, namely; Okumhlophe Secondary School, Elora Primary School and Margot Fonteyn High in Umlazi, and Golden Steps School and Siphosethu Primary School in Pinetown.
Forming a greater part of P&G Africa’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, the company initially pledged R7 million to kickstart the initiative. The good news is that the first phase of the programme is now complete, and the rebuilt schools were officially handed over at an event on Wednesday, October 19, at Siphosethu Primary School.
The five adopted schools have also been adopted by the P&G Always Keeping Girls in School, an ongoing program which provides essential puberty and confidence education and donations of pads to needy school children.
Explaining the motivation behind the SiyakhaKabusha initiative, P&G’s Vilo Trska said: “Our education system has been tested to the limit in recent times, but as a nation, we have demonstrated time and time again how strong and united we are when confronted with pressing challenges. We can face them headon if we come together and work towards healing and rebuilding our country, by ensuring that the majority, if not all of the affected schools, are restored to their former glory.”
He added: “Through our brands – such as Always, Vicks, Head & Shoulders, and Pantene – we have been able to raise funds and launch the SiyakhaKabusha Initiative.”
