SOS Africa Charity Launches Primary School Classroom Fundraising Appeal

SOS Africa has just launched a Primary School Classroom Fundraising Appeal. Our UK based grassroots education charity was recently approached by partnering school Grabouw High to assist with funding an exciting new initiative which will see the school introduce multi-lingual Reception Level teaching for the very first time. This ambitious project, which involves the purchase of 2 new classrooms, will enable the school to provide pre-primary phase education to an additional 60 children each year taught in either Afrikaans or English: Primary School Classroom Fundraising Appeal (sosafrica.com).

SOS Africa first partnered with Grabouw Primary and High Schools in 2013 and subsequently opened a fully operational education centre on campus to provide learning support in the mornings and holistic education to sponsored children each afternoon. The charity also funded other educational projects including additional counselling support for school students during COVID-19 and a Primary School computer lab earlier this year.

“Among the many benefits of this project, providing Reception Level education enables children to join the school system at a younger age, learn, socialise and grow in confidence before officially starting their primary school years. This extra year of support can provide children with a solid educational foundation, vital to their development.” (Herholdt B, Grabouw High School Principal)

This most recent collaboration will also benefit the many disadvantaged communities on the outskirts of the Western Cape Town. By introducing English language teaching to pupils from the age of 6 makes the school accessible to children from a wide range of cultural heritages. Once operational, the classrooms will host 8 SOS Africa sponsored children, many of whom speak Xhosa as a first language.

“SOS Africa believes that every child should have the right to a quality education and making education accessible to all cultures and ethnic groups is a big priority for our organisation. We are delighted to be part of this exciting new initiative which will break down language barriers which often hamper accessibly to education for all.” (Charlie Hare, SOS Africa Western Cape Chair of Trustees)

As well as facilitating Grade R learning during the mornings, the new classrooms will also be available to SOS Africa in the afternoons, enabling the organisation to significantly expand its child sponsorship scheme over the coming years. This ensures that access to the school is not only provided to different cultures but also to disadvantaged families who are unable to afford the tuition fees.

“The first SOS Africa sponsored children who joined the school in 2013 are now just 18 months away from high school graduation with bright futures ahead of them. We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to increasing numbers of children from across Grabouw in January next year!” (Charlie Hare, SOS Africa Western Cape Chair of Trustees)

To make this exciting project come to fruition, SOS Africa needs the help of our incredible supporters and fundraisers from across the globe. A fundraising appeal has just been launched which aims to raise £40,000, enough to fund the purchase of 2 new Grade R classrooms ready open in January 2024. For more information about how to contribute, please visit: Primary School Classroom Fundraising Appeal (biggive.org).

And indeed, fundraising has already begun: this September hundreds of fearless fundraisers will abseil from the top of King Alfred’s Tower, an iconic 160ft monument in the South-West of England, to raise funds for the appeal: King Alfred's Tower Charity Abseil Fundraising Event (sosafrica.com).

If you require any further information about the appeal, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your support and we look forward to keeping you updated throughout the fundraising process.