Meulenhof Primary School in Philadelphia, Western Cape

Pupils at a farm school in Philadelphia, a small town near Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape, were excited to become recipients of a new library, delivered through the Mandela Day Library Project.

The project is the primary Mandela Day focus for South African non-profit organisation Participate for Good, which operates a fully automated system for gathering funds for the school library campaign.

HJ van Wyk, principal of Meulenhof Primary School, was on hand with his staff to welcome the Mandela library team early on a morning in late February 2022. With the help of all the teaching assistants the library shelves were packed with a few thousand books.

The children were all inquisitive to see what was happening at their school, designed for 400 pupils but currently accommodating just over 900 kids. Many of them had not before seen books other than textbooks ( and newspapers).

Insulation services supplier Kaefer is a long-standing partner of the Mandela Day Library Project, and the company’s CEO, Jayson Cleaver, attended the launch to witness the impact his company’s donations have on schools and communities. Kaefer is involved in industrial projects in the nearby community.

The schoolchildren gave the guests gathered for the launch a demonstration of their reading and poetry skills, and the library launch was ended with the school choir singing the national anthem.