{"id":86176,"date":"2017-01-29T02:53:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-29T00:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/national-school-shoe-campaign-rolls-out-in-port-elizabeth\/"},"modified":"2017-01-29T02:53:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T00:53:20","slug":"national-school-shoe-campaign-rolls-out-in-port-elizabeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/national-school-shoe-campaign-rolls-out-in-port-elizabeth\/","title":{"rendered":"National school shoe campaign rolls out in Port Elizabeth"},"content":{"rendered":"

National school shoe campaign rolls out in Port Elizabeth<\/a>: <\/p>\n

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Big Cheer: Pupils at Joe Slovo Primary School in Port Elizabeth’s KwaDwesi received a welcome kick-start to the new year with a donation by Baywest Mall of 500 pairs of new school shoes, valued at R50,000. Assisting with the giveaway are (centre, from left) Riana van Staden of PEP Baywest Mall, Baywest Mall marketing manager Christopher Hutchings, Sarah Smuts of Love Story and Anele Dyeshana of Joe Slovo Primary School. Photo: Good News Lab<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

(Port Elizabeth) \u2013 Needy pupils from Joe Slovo Primary School in Port Elizabeth\u2019s KwaDwesi have been given a much-needed boost just in time for their new school year.<\/p>\n

Representatives of Nelson Mandela Bay\u2019s largest shopping centre, Baywest Mall, visited the primary school early on Wednesday (January 25) to hand over R50,000 worth of new school shoes to 500 underprivileged pupils.<\/p>\n

The donation, which was coordinated by the mall\u2019s corporate social investment partner Love Story, formed part of a larger national investment by mall owners Rebosis Property Fund. Rebosis, which is South Africa\u2019s largest black-owned JSE-listed property group, has taken steps to support education countrywide by providing R200,000 worth of school shoes at the start of the new school year.<\/p>\n

Baywest Mall general manager Troy Zunckel said shoes had been purchased to fit the shoe size and gender of the pupils identified as most needy by the school and community leaders. The children also received lunchboxes from Pep Stores at Baywest Mall.<\/p>\n

\u201cEradicating poverty starts with giving children hope and opportunities in life,\u201d said Zunckel. \u201cFor Baywest Mall, as part of the Rebosis group, we are committed to supporting educational initiatives as a means to promoting sustainable economic development in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Slovo Primary was founded in 2003 after local residents recognised the need for a school in this impoverished area.<\/p>\n

With an unemployment rate of over 80% among the school\u2019s parents and a number of pupils being raised in child-headed households, Love Story\u2019s Elaine Watson said many of the children were in dire need.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchool shoes can have a real and positive impact on young children. Not having to walk to school barefoot can indirectly affect their school attendance and, in effect, their whole education,\u201d said Watson.<\/p>\n

According to Rebosis marketing manager Deborah Bailey, providing school shoes is a tangible and practical solution, giving relief to the children \u2013 many of whom are forced to walk long distances barefoot to school each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of our social and ethical mandate, Rebosis Property Fund has recognised an overwhelming need to contribute positively to communities surrounding its shopping centres,\u201d said Bailey.<\/p>\n

She said each of Rebosis\u2019s four major malls \u2013 Forest Hill City in Centurion, Baywest Mall in Port Elizabeth, and Hemingways Mall and Mdantsane City in East London \u2013 had carefully selected their beneficiary schools according to need within their respective communities.<\/p>\n

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