By Doreen Mokgolo
A group of young people have taken it upon themselves to make the first day of the school journey for learners from poor backgrounds a little more bearable.
Thusangwanageno, which translates to “help your brethren”, has embarked on a campaign to cover exercise books in five provinces: Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State.
Johnenglish Molepo, who founded Thusangwanageno, told Scrolla.Africa that the campaign first started two years ago after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We realised that many parents lost their jobs and many households were struggling to put food on the table,” he explained.
“We knew that learners from these households will be exposed in class and struggle to concentrate which will affect their studies.”
Armed with stationery and book covers, Molepo approached different schools in Soshanguve, Tshwane volunteering to cover exercise books.
The positive initiative was adopted by young people in neighbouring communities and provinces like Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Freestate, and North West.
To date, they are providing their free services to over 80 schools and they have renovated 20 schools in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
They also donated mini-libraries to schools that have very few or no books at all, help learners with university applications and help students get their driver’s licences.
Molepo said it breaks his heart that there are schools operating with such limited resources.
“Many of the schools in rural areas operate in collapsed infrastructure, using pit latrines and damaged tables and chairs,” he said.
“My dream is to see uniformity in our schools where every learner learns without feeling inferior.”
The foundation offers its free services with the help of financial donations collected from street collections and donations from previous beneficiaries.
“We hope to reach other provinces to help make all learners’ educational journeys bearable,” said Molepo.
Pictured above: Thusangwanageno is on a mission to preserve the learners’ exercise books
Image source: Supplied
