Principal Derrick Bilankulu
School principal Derrick Bilankulu remembers a time when teachers were afraid of going into some classrooms, fearing for their safety. Thomo Primary School was so dilapidated that there were gaping holes in the floors, windows were broken and ceilings were hanging dangerously loose above.
Sometimes snakes slithered up the walls and hid in the roof. Bilankulu says he has lost count of the number of times learners fled from the classroom as one of the reptiles fell down, causing pandemonium among the pupils. It was only by some miracle that no one in the school was on the receiving end of the reptiles’ fangs.
But all that is now in the past. The school, built by residents of Thomo village back in 1966, has been given a new lease on life. As part of their Mandela Day contribution, South Zambezi Engineering Services and Khato Civils have collaborated to refurbish the establishment.
The walls have been given a new coat of paint, broken windows have been replaced, ceilings repaired and holes in the floors have been patched up. The roof has also been fixed and new gutters installed to channel the flow of water on rainy days.
Bilankulu began his education at this very school in the early 1970s. He says the intervention by South Zambezi Engineering Services and Khato Civils has made a world of difference. He remembers that back when he was learning there, the school was in good condition, as it had only just been built. But later, in the early 1990s when he came back to work there as a trained teacher, the building had already begun falling apart. He says it was in such a bad state that even members of the community had stopped taking pride in it.
But now he has noticed a new buzz in the village. His phone has not stopped ringing and residents stop him in the streets to congratulate him on the new look building. “Everyone is over the moon. Educators are motivated and even members of the community are calling me to congratulate us. They are happy because the school building looks new,” says Bilankulu.
Grade five English teacher Irene Hlungwani says working in the dilapidated building was demoralising. “Everything was broken here,” she says. She says learners had to spend part of every morning cleaning up bat droppings from the floor. The bats had found a home in the roof, which they accessed through the broken ceiling.
Zondie Shikhibana, deputy manager of the Klein Letaba Circuit, under which the school falls, says such conditions have a negative impact on the concentration levels and confidence of learners.
She says this may lead to absenteeism as the poor state of the school gives learners the impression that education is not important. Shikhibana says the morale of educators is also affected by the surroundings.
“The work environment should be in good condition … when it’s dilapidated like this school was, people would find reasons not to show up for work,” she says.
The school has 560 learners and 16 classrooms. It is situated in Ha-Thomo, a village located about 8km from the Giyani CBD.
On Tuesday community leaders joined pupils, teachers, residents and staff from South Zambezi Engineering Services and Khato Civils for the official handover of the refurbished school.
Since starting work in the Greater Giyani Municipality in 2016, the two companies have helped to refurbish schools in Nkomo, Bambeni and Relela villages, where they work. They also spent R4-million on the refurbishment of Funanani Special School, a boarding school which caters for learners with special needs.
“We work in a community and we don’t want to fold our arms and be among those who say ‘government is not delivering’. We are driven by a desire to change people’s lives,” says South Zambezi Engineering Services project director Makoko Makgonye.
Bilankulu says they approached Khato Civils in 2015, asking them to help renovate their run down school. “They were positive, and told us they would help,” he says.
Back then Bilankulu was under a lot of strain due to the terrible conditions at the school. “We killed many snakes in the school. How do you explain to parents that a child has been bitten by a snake in a classroom? When it rained we had to stop with lessons because the roof was leaking. It was very difficult,” he says.
Motivating the teaching staff under those conditions proved very challenging too. “I had to lead by example. If teachers were afraid of going into a class because a snake had been seen there, I had to go into the classroom myself and reassure them that it was safe to work there,” says Bilankulu.
But all that is in the past now. The loud chatter and laughter of learners fills the air in the newly refurbished school as community leaders inspect the new building and conduct the ceremonial last-minute touch-ups.
“Investing in children is to invest in the future. Khato Civils and South Zambezi Engineering Services have invested in the future,” says Giyani Municipality chief whip Richard Mashali.
“This is one of the oldest schools in this area and it has produced important members of society. Ploughing back to the community is very important and by repairing a school it means all of us in the community have benefited,” says Mashali.
Shikhibana urges community members and learners to take care of the school. “Khato Civils and South Zambezi Engineering Services, you have turned our shack into a house. You have lived by the slogan that education is a societal responsibility. You didn’t just take money from Giyani — you have also ploughed it back into the community,” she says.
Hosi Kenneth Shiviti of the Thomo Traditional Authority, who also started his schooling at this very school, says he is excited about the intervention of the two companies.
Shiviti says he used to receive numerous complaints from members of the community regarding the state of the school and was desperate to have it fixed. But he did not know how he was going to raise funds to save this great institution in his village.
“We are very proud of what Khato and South Zambezi Engineering Services have done. This is the future of our village and our children,” he says.
Makgonye says the intervention is in line with the company’s commitment to community development. “We believe that you have to build capital with heart, and not be a heartless capitalist,” says Makgonye.