The 18th July 2011 marked the 93rd birthday of Nelson Mandela, as well as the second annual Mandela Day since its inception in 2010. I joined members of TEACH South Africa in their gesture to contribute to the lives of learners at Zonkizizwe Secondary School in Katlehong, by donating120 pairs of school shoes.
On arrival at Zonkizizwe, we were welcomed by staff and the principal, Mrs Masemola. The TEACH team, a fellow university student and I began to offload the boxes full of shoes, donated by the Lupi Ngcayisa Foundation, into the assembly courtyard.
After individually labelling each pair of shoes with the name and shoe size of a learner, we placed the boxes, according to sizes, so that they could be handed over. A bell sounded and a sea of learners in blue uniforms poured out of their classrooms and into the assembly courtyard where we stood.
Mrs Masemola quietened the excited crowd as my principle used to do, when I was still at school. She spoke of the importance of Mandela’s role in our country’s history, the importance of the day and the purpose of our visit, before handing over to the Ekurhuleni South District Director, Jerry
Baghaloo.
I stood next to Wandile, the other varsity student, and whispered of the school days when we stood, seldom quietly, when visitors came to address us. In between the speakers, we took photos of the smiling faces who were definitely not camera shy. Unbeknown to me, Wandile and I would shortly have to make an impromptu speech to the learners about why we got involved in this Mandela Day initiative and why we thought education was important.
As talkative as I am, an impromptu speech did catch me off guard, but having Wandile start with his part eased my nerves. When we began to speak, the assembly courtyard fell silent as attentive ears honed in on words that I didn’t think were that profound when I spoke, but seemed to connect with the learners. The more I spoke, the more I realised what opportunities Wandile and I had had in life because of education and how privileged we were. “Education is the platform to the opportunity and successes of life,” Wandile said, summing this up.
Next was the handing over of the shoes by Lupi Ngcayisa, the founder of the Lupi Ngcayisa Foundation. “Do not take education for granted,” he said to the learners. “Do not take your teachers for granted. Do not take yourselves for granted.” He then handed over 10 of the 120 pairs of shoes while the rest would be given out in class.
While packing the shoes back into boxes I felt warmed by what had happened and what we were able to do for the learners. My Mandela Day was special because I gave of my time and of myself –when you give of yourself, that’s when they say you give the most.