To restore the dignity of vulnerable learners in schools, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Hands of Compassion (HoC) will be donating 35 pairs of school shoes to Qhudeni Primary School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday, 23 March 2023.

This will be the first of the three school shoe donations planned for Nkandla this month. The HoC team composed of staff members from the DUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Innovation and Engagement (DVC: RIE) office, DUT Library, and the Marketing, Public Relations and Events units collected these brand-new pairs of school shoes during their Adopt-A-Child for the School Shoes Donation Drive, which was initiated last month, February 2023.

According to Ms Phumzile Xulu, DUT’s Engagement Practitioner the 35 pairs of schools will be given to the most vulnerable learners from the different grades, which have been selected by the school. She mentioned that they also plan to do another handover in two schools, Manyane Primary school and Macala Primary School at Nkandla next week. The total number of shoes that will be handed over to the learners in Nkandla schools is 60 pairs. Another school to be visited next week is the uMzinto Primary School located in Eastern Cape. The team will be handing over a total of 50 pairs of shoes to Grades 1 and 7 learners.

She expressed her gratitude to the DUT Community for showing ‘compassion’ which is one of the values and principles of DUT enshrined in the ENVISION2030 strategy. Xulu indicated that they felt a need to involve the DUT community in the donation of school shoes, to allow each one to contribute to changing the lives and the livelihoods of these young people. So far, she pointed out that there are no sponsors, however, they had 80 individual donors who donated a total of 112 pairs of shoes. She found this to be impressive, especially during the financially unstable period experienced by most people.

Xulu further explained that the idea behind the Adopt-A-Child for the School Shoes Donation Drive came as a direct response to the disadvantaged children’s dire need for school uniforms, particularly in rural schools.

“We as the DUT HoC team discussed how the DUT community can assist these learners, and the idea for the call for donations was developed and shared with the DUT Community. DUT staff members often visit rural schools for various engagements, and we are made aware of the various resources that rural schools are in need of. Although we can’t tackle all of the issues at once, we decided that trying to restore the dignity of the learners and giving them access to school shoes was a start. As an engaged university, we have the responsibility to be active citizens that respond to the needs of society,” emphasized Xulu.

In addition, Xulu said they have observed that learners from rural schools often have to walk long distances without shoes and that those with the shoes, their shoes are often inadequate.
“The main goal for this initiative is that its effort can at least offer a small improvement to the lives of these learners. With any drive, such as this one, the biggest challenge will always be on gathering a sufficient amount of donations as the need is so great. The team is trying, by all means, to assist as many learners as they can with the resources that they have now,” she stressed.

The team hopes that this donation drive will be an ongoing effort that the DUT community can support. In future, they also hope to include other universal uniforms and stationery items.

Pictured: Samkelisiwe Dlamini; Library Assistant: Circulation at DUT donating a pair of school shoes during the Adopt-A-Child for the School Shoes Donation Drive.

Simangele Zuma