Charities – TRACN4 Elands Marathon

Ebhudlweni Primary School

Ebhudlweni Primary School is situated at Emgwenya in Waterval Boven. The school was formed in 1959 by the Railway Company and they had their classes in the local church. The school was built in 1989. Most of the parents in the area depend on Social Grants. There are currently 729 learners and the school starts from grade R – grade 7.

There are not enough classrooms for all the learners and thus the school makes use of the school hall for some of the classes. They are in need of:

• A Computer Centre
• A Library

In future, the school would like assistance in purchasing uniform for their gumboots dance group. Their group has great potential and would like to participate in school competitions and an ongoing cause is the maintenance/upgrade of the school.

EMGWENYA HERITAGE CENTRE

Your generous contributions have enabled us to:

• Allocate, each year, the Emgwenya Heritage Centre a waterpoint through donation
• Allow the Heritage Centre to organize local choirs to perform during the marathon
• Support the Emgwenya African Mass Choir and the Thee Voices Choir to purchase new costumes
• Contribute to transport the choirs to the waterpoint and provide breakfast for all members

Emgwenya African Mass Choir and Thee Voices Choir are most grateful to TRACN4 Elands Marathon for inviting them to participate in the marathon activities and giving them an opportunity to perform at the race. Many runners were energised and happy to hear the choirs, several even stopping to dance a little. We cheered on the runners, and handed out cold water with gusto and urgency. The event was a great success and we received positive feedback on the choir's performances. It also helped the Choirs to gain experience and have fun at the same time.

The Thee Voices Choir, are very thankful for the contribution to the Choir which will be used to improve outfits and buy new ones as the choir has recently expanded to include participants from other towns.

See you all next year.

Oosterlijn Primary School

Laerskool Oosterlijn turns 130 years old in October. It officially opened on the 14th October 1895 with 27 learners enrolled.

With 167 learners currently enrolled from grade RR to grade 7 and 9 teachers, this school is small but has a tremendous sense of pride. But, being a school in a very small community with a high level of unemployment has made it very difficult, with lots of learners not being able to pay school fees.

Some very ingenious fund-raising has been done by the team of dedicated teachers SGB members but unfortunately the funds always fall short.

The TRACN4 Elands marathon, using the school as a starting point for the 42km has been a tremendous help.

The donations made over the past years from the TRACN4 Elands Marathon have been used solely for maintenance and have made it possible to make big and much needed improvements in the school.

Originally the donations were used to fix the ablutions and the following year cameras were installed to help with security both on the grounds and in the classrooms. And in the last year it has allowed the SGB to buy controlled access for the entrance gate and also paint to do a small but much needed part of the roof (although there is still a huge amount of roof to be done).

The school and its teachers are very excited to be a part of this great marathon and look forward to many years of the 42km starting at the schools gates.

Clivia Primary School

CLIVIA PRIMARY SCHOOL in Ngodwana. This is a primary school and is situated in Ngodwana. The school has 270 learners from grade R to grade 7.

The feeding areas are Ngodwana, Elandshoek, Waterval Bowen and the Elandsvalei. They rely heavily on school fees (which is not always forthcoming, due to unemployment) and donations.

The school has used the donations to improve and paint their play area and are in the process of fixing and upgrading their bathroom facilities and any future donations will go towards this much needed project.