| Maraletsane Primary School is situated
across the tar road and close to the main gate of Welgevonden.
As part of Welgevonden’s commitment to the local community,
the reserve has been assisting the school in many ways over
the past number of years.
Here are some of the projects that Welgevonden has been
delighted to be involved in:
School Game Drive...
On the morning of Thursday the 3rd of November 2007,
Welgevonden continued its long standing arrangement with
Mareletsane Primary School to take the children on a game
drive into Welgevonden. Amid much excitement, the children,
teachers and some parents set off to look for game and to
simply enjoy the experience of being in a game reserve (and
let’s not forget a day out of the classroom is always appreciated).
The Headmaster was extremely grateful and emphasised
how important this annual excursion is in terms of instilling
an appreciation of wildlife and nature in the children.
Andre and Edward from the WLOA provided the wildlife expertise
and many thanks to Francois from Site 5 for his vehicle,
time and extremely enthusiastic assistance. Hot dogs and
cool drinks at the main office completed what was a really
successful day.
Budding Young Talent...
Children from the local school excelled during the 2007
National Science week, with several first prizes in the
Waterberg District. This is excellent for such a small farm
school.
They proudly came to show off their projects
to the Welgevonden staff. If anyone would like to make a
donation to the school, please contact the Welgevonden office.
Housing of School Bicycles...
The school was given 47 bicycles by the Department of
Education in 2005. This was part of a programme where schools
in the Limpopo Province were supplied with bicycles to assist
children in getting to and from school. However, this was
on condition that these bicycles be handed back to the school
during the school holidays, which caused quite a dilemma
as they had no secure building in which to store the bicycles.
Welgevonden came to the rescue by welding burglar bars
across the classroom windows and securing the door, as an
interim solution while we looked at the possibility of erecting
a more permanent structure for this purpose.
It was
eventually decided that a shipping container would offer
the secure environment they were looking for. Welgevonden
then purchased a shipping container for the school, which
was delivered on the 31st of January 2006, amidst
great excitement and appreciation from children and teachers
alike.
We hope that this will keep their bicycles and other
equipment safe and dry, and that the container will solve
some of their theft problems.
Road Repair...
In addition, the Welgevonden road team repaired the school’s
access road as well as a low water bridge on the road to
the school which was badly damaged after heavy rains in
mid January 2006. This project not only allowed daily access
to the school, but was also necessary in order to deliver
a long-awaited container.
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