Sierra Nevada Primary School was established for learners from the suburb of Lenasia South, but after the 1984 elections the surrounding population opted to enrol their children in former ’Model C’ schools with the result that 80% of its learners travel in from nearby settlements and townships.
The teachers remain committed to providing the best pedagogy under overcrowded and under-resourced conditions and for this reason the opportunity for the Trust to assist the school was favourably considered.
The school already had a library which doubled as a classroom, but unfortunately the sparse collection of books on rickety shelves was not appealing enough to draw in readers. And valiant though the school’s attempts were to promote the space as a library, the learners merely viewed library as a classroom. All in all, this facility was not conducive to drawing in the crowds of readers.
Our project team the school and in a few months the library was ready for handover, complete with 7000 books, teaching resources, IT equipment, sports equipment, board games and a library assistant who was on hand whenever the learners required assistance. The dusty area outside the upstairs library was grassed and a giant outdoor chess board built.
The school has not looked back since; neither have we.
