To help make a difference, Ms Shannon Pillay, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Food and Nutrition Consumer Science Advanced Diploma student donated 27 pairs of school shoes to the Adopt-A-Child for the School Shoes Donation Drive at the Community Engagement Offices, Ritson Campus on Wednesday, 22 March 2023.

The Adopt-A-Child Drive was initiated by the DUT Hands of Compassion (HoC) team, which is a team composed of staff members from the DUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC): Research Innovation and Engagement (RIE) office, Libraries, and the Marketing, Public Relations and Events unit. These shoes will be donated to rural primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces as they are often under-resourced and often receive very little support due to their remoteness.

“Community engagement is something close to my heart and I consider myself as a compassionate individual who always look for ways to help bring change and when I saw the notice about the Adopt-A-Child for the School Shoe Drive, I instantly wanted to sign up and help make a difference. I am grateful to my family, friends and sponsors for their support and the great impact that their donations have made in this school shoe initiative. My target for this initiative was to donate 23 new pairs of school shoes. I had exceeded my target and 27 children will be receiving pair of school shoes from me, ”said Ms Pillay.

In addition, she explained and shared the motivation behind donating school shoes.
“Gifting a new pair of school shoes to a young scholar will instill them with pride, hope and joy as well as protecting their little feet from cold weather or rough roads. A pair of school shoes gives students hope, it also serves an investment for young people and as an intervention to create an opportunity for self-enrichment, ”she said.

DUT staff members often visit rural schools for various engagements, and they are made aware of the various resources that rural schools are in need of. Although they can’t tackle all of the issues at once, they decided that trying to restore the dignity of the learners and giving them access to school shoes was the start. As an engaged university, they have the responsibility to be active citizens that respond to the needs of society. Using one of the DUT principles, “compassion”, as a guide, they thought it was a good idea to involve the DUT community in the call to allow each one to contribute to changing the lives and the livelihoods of these young people.

Pictured: Shannon Pillay.

Nomvelo Zulu