Johannesburg ,
10
August
2015
|
00:00
Africa/Harare

Making a difference – TransUnion brightens up Vulamazibuko School, Soweto

TransUnion, a global organisation, is passionate about making a difference, reflecting their corporate culture and ethos of giving back to the community. Staff at TransUnion in South Africa followed suit and recently spent two days, 14 and 21 November 2014, at Vulamazibuko School, a primary school that caters for approximately 485 students, painting the school with fresh new colours.

The school was established in 1963 as a Zulu school in the area and does not charge the parents school fees. This means it is 100 percent funded by the government but unfortunately this is not enough to maintain the school or augment their operational requirements.

TransUnion encouraged staff to volunteer and make a difference to the students and supplied all the materials for the two days. A total of 120 staff members joined efforts to scrape, sandpaper and paint the walls and doors – giving the school a new, updated look.

It wasn’t all work and fun was had by all as the staff at TransUnion played soccer with the students and handed out chips and chocolates. The students also put on a show for TransUnion where the kids sang and danced for the TransUnion staff.

“We wanted to select a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) project that would benefit local communities. Educational institutions are top of the list as they empower our youth, providing them with the opportunity to obtain a good education and as a result, improve their lives. TransUnion has worked on smaller projects, however, this was the first large scale volunteer day where staff were able to make a difference during office hours. We wanted to give the school a new look, giving the students a brighter learning environment,” says Jules Kingaby, CSI Coordinator at TransUnion.

“Vulamazibuko Primary School was selected as the pilot CSI project for TransUnion in South Africa. When TransUnion sought suitable schools to support, Vulamazibuko Primary School stood out. The staff and principal are passionate about making a difference and it is this attitude that made up our minds to choose them as the recipient of our contribution,” adds Kingaby.

Vulamazibuko Primary School serves children from very poor backgrounds who often cannot even afford to bring lunch to school and the school therefore provides the students with lunches during school hours. Teaching and learning resources are also a huge challenge facing the school as the school aims to motivate not only the students, but staff and parents as well to better and empower the community. Vulamazibuko believes that enriching students’ lives and providing them with a quality education, will not only improve their circumstances, but those of their families as well.

“Funding from Government is not sufficient for us to maintain the facilities. Furthermore, our school is old and in desperate need of a revamp – both the grounds and the buildings. It is my firm belief that an inviting environment greatly impacts self-esteem and the creation of positive learning. We try out best to empower the learners to discover their full potential and talents and through the support of CSI assistance such as TransUnion’s, we are able to improve the students learning experience,” says Mr Mbatha, Principle of Vulamazibuko.

“Our learning environment has been dramatically transformed with the bright and beautiful classrooms an inspiring environment for learning and teaching alike. We lack words to articulate our gratitude to TransUnion and their wonderful staff. We hope that our relationship with TransUnion will be a long and mutually beneficial one,” concludes Mr Mbatha.