GEORGE NEWS - Moses Nqumse, a Grade 6 student at Glenwood House, recently participated in the school's annual Cuctus Excellentiam Leadership Challenge.
A part of the challenge is that students themselves identify a charitable community project for which they raise awareness, advertise and in some cases collect money or items.
The Grade 6 students held a Ductus Expo in the school hall in August, where each student advertised what they have been doing for their service project, while the rest of the school's students and parents visited the expo and decided which cause they would like to support.
Moses was adamant that he wanted to collect school shoes because, he said, there are many children in his neighbourhood going to school barefoot or simply not attending school because they do not have school shoes.
He did this by doing odd jobs and selling his idea to friends and family with the tagline, "Donate a pair of new or pre-loved school shoes and help a child walk his educational journey in comfort".
He also handed out pamphlets during break time, encouraging fellow students to donate their "small and pre-loved" school shoes. Approximately 15 pairs of pre-loved shoes were among the 89 pairs he collected in about two weeks.
Moses Nqumse (left) donates a box of school shoes to headmaster Ryan Esau at Franken Primary School in Herold.
Family and friends
The hearts of family and friends were open to the cause and some people even donated four pairs of shoes.
On Friday 14 October, Moses donated 40 pairs of school shoes each to Geelhoutboom Primary School in Geelhoutboom and Franken Primary School in Herold, and also handed out shoes to needy children living nearby.
Both principals expressed great appreciation for the shoes, and one also mentioned that there is a lot of absenteeism due to children without shoes. For Moses, the entire challenge and especially Friday's event were life-changing.
"At the beginning, I was very shy, not knowing how to ask for support from people. But it became much easier later. After seeing the children's smiles and how they ran to their friends showing off the shoes, I felt so good," said Moses.
Moses donated 40 pairs of school shoes each to Geelhoutboom Primary School in Geelhoutboom and Franken Primary School in Herold.
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