I am principal of a school called Nkone Maruping Primary School, situated on the outskirts of an RDP settlement called Braamfischerville, named after the struggle icon, Braam Fischer. It is not far away from Dobsonville and Roodepoort, west of Gauteng.
The school opened its doors in July 2004 and has an enrolment of 1 200. It is made up of 36 corrugated mobile unit containers situated on 124×136 square metres.
Of the 26 classrooms that we have, one is used as my office, while another serves as an administration office.
The school is nestled at the foot of two mine dumps notorious for their dust during the windy season, normally around August. On the worst windy days we are left with no option but to send the learners home.
The dust not only contributes to poor visibility, but also poses serious health problems to learners and teachers. It is during this time that most teachers and learners typically complain of dust-related illnesses such as headaches, eye and chest irritations, and tonsillitis.
As a result of this, the rate of absenteeism rises, as doctors book some of them off sick. This has a huge impact on our learning. As a principal I see it as my responsibility to ensure that learning does not come to a complete halt while also trying to come up with ways of dealing with the dust.
I began by involving learners and teachers, as well as parents, and asked each of them to contribute a square of grass to the school. The response was overwhelming, although it was not enough to cover the whole school yard.
My next port of call was the department of agriculture, to whom I wrote for more help. Although they could not help, they referred me to a company called Plant Wise, which responded positively and gave us grass – enough to cover the remaining space.
We decided to donate some of the grass to the neighbouring schools, which had a similar problem. Today, although there are days where we still get affected by dust, the situation has improved tremendously.
But out of this rather difficult experience, a lesson was learned – especially by the learners – which showed how crucial the environment is to our wellbeing.
And being one of the few schools that are involved in indigenous games, our learners are now able to play freely within the school yard, unlike before. The awareness is not only confined to the school, but has spread to the community as well.
For instance, as I walk around I noticed that most houses in the neighbourhood boast well-manicured and lush green grass, as well as trees. I am happy that, in the end, the school and the community were able to put our heads together and solved what was a perennial headache to us.
This experience brought home the point that schools should always be in the service of the communities in which they are located. They must be centres of excellence by joining hands with the people outside their premises.
I learned that, as a leader, one must always take the initiative, but in doing so must also involve others.
Nocawe Makibela is principal of Nkone Maruping Primary School in Braamfischerville, west of Gauteng