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Two schools given free uniforms
23/07/2008 21:19 - (SA)
Siphiwe Nyathi
Nelspruit - Poor children from two Mpumalanga schools have started the school term with new uniforms after a Johannesburg businessperson donated hundreds of tracksuits, shoes and jerseys to them.
Nawaal Motlekar, who is the first woman to run South African Tourism in London, made the donations as part of a personal commitment to "give back" to poor communities in her home province.
"This is a befitting gesture of goodwill, given that citizens of this country had dedicated the month pf July to observing acts that mark the moral rejuvenation of society," said a smiling Motlekar, who was known as Nolwazi Mdluli when she still lived in Mpumalanga.
"What better way to mark the rejuvenation of morality than showing kindness and compassion to those in need?" she asked.
Helped a child in need
The uniforms were donated to pupils at Mgwenyane Higher Primary in KaBokweni outside White River and John Mdluli Primary School in Mataffin outside Nelspruit.
Motlekar said: "A hundred years from now, the amount in my bank account, the kind of house in which I lived or the kind of clothes I wore won't matter.
"What I know is that I would have made a difference in the life of a child in need," said Motlekar.
This is not the first kindness Motlekar has shown those in need. Last winter, she gave away blankets to a charity organisation in Mpumalanga.
Samantha Mdluli, a Grade 7 pupil at John Mdluli Primary, was excited about the donation because her mother was unemployed and could not afford to buy her school socks and a jersey.
Year's salary to charity
"This will make me look like any other pupil at school and, most importantly, I will feel warm and enjoy my studies," she said.
Motlekar was accompanied by Mbombela's executive mayor, Lassy Chiwayo, who urged the business community to adopt Motlekar's charitable character.
Chiwayo, who himself gives to charity through an organisation called Lesedi, is the only mayor in the country who has given his entire year's salary to charity.
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