Empower Tshabo's Youth by Financially Supporting Nowawe High

Hi! Our names are Kolby and Grace. We had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in South Africa earlier this year. We were privileged to live in a loving community in the Eastern Cape Province called Tshabo. Because of our experiences and relationships, we would love to show our gratitude by giving back to the community that opened their arms to us.

In Tshabo we took classes at the local high school, Nowawe High School, where we were educated about funding issues many majority Black and rural schools face in South Africa.

After corresponding with the school principal Mr. Mamatu, we have decided that a fundraiser would be the most productive way of giving back at this time. So, please help us raise funds for the youth of such a loving and deserving community!

Attached below is a letter from the school principal Mr. Mamatu:

“The school is situated in [a] deep rural area in [the] Tshabo Location, Block [two] village—It was built in 1972 by the community members. As you can see the structure is not well built and strong because there was not enough funding for the construction. However, it was enough for their children to get [a] basic education.

The school is poorly resourced, it consists of classrooms, [three] of them have no electricity because of vandalism. Some of these classes are overcrowded because of high learner numbers [therefore] there is a challenge of furniture, desks, and chairs not [being] enough to accommodate all learners.

The school has no library, no science laboratory, [and a] shortage of textbooks. All these challenges negatively impact the education of our learners, therefore the curriculum delivery is ineffective most of the time.

Sport is one of our extracurricular activities but the lack of sports facilities/resources like sportfields [and] equipment hinders our aim of developing [well-rounded] learners.

The basic functionality of the school is sometimes distracted by [a] lack of basic services, like [an] inconsistent supply of clean water and [lacking sanitation] facilities.

The community is poorly disadvantaged with a lot of social ills that affect the education of our learners. Parents are poverty stricken as they are [often] unemployed.

Many children depend on social grants for their school needs, while some learners are household heads who fend for themselves. The result is most of them cannot afford school needs, causing girls to look for boyfriends [who] will take care of them financially, leading to high rates of teenage pregnancy and dropouts. Some, especially boys, become victims of drugs and crime and as a result, academic progress is distracted while their future in school is destroyed.

The school lacks basic resources like office equipment, photocopying machines, computers/laptops, WiFi, water tanks, [a] computer lab, and science and sports kits.

During the [third] and [fourth] terms our matric students are incubated into a school camp in preparation for trial [in September] and final examinations. The school needs basic stuff like food/groceries for [students], matrons, security, bedding, etc. [this is similar to US High Schoolers prepping for college by taking the SAT or ACT].

The school will therefore appreciate any kind of assistance in the form of donation to achieve its vision and mission of providing quality teaching [and] learning in a safe environment to produce future leaders for the benefit of the community. It is said that a hand that gives is the hand that is blessed.

Wishing everyone in this project success in every attempt to develop our school and community.

May God Bless You All

— (Principal) TT Mamatu”

Please note: GoFundMe is not operational in South Africa, therefore all funds collected through this fundraiser will be withdrawn and directly transferred via PayPal to Nowawe High School's financial account.