Revamped library for Aberdeen primary
Aberdeen Primary School received a wonderful donation of books worth over R22000 for their library last week, and as an added bonus, five willing helpers for a week to organize it.
The donation came about through a contact of Dr Laetitia Greyling of NMMU in PE. Dr Greyling herself has been involved with the school for a number of years, bringing students to the school, improving the school environment, and supporting the teachers. On her visit last August Dr Greyling was accompanied by a Swedish visitor, Ann-Charlotte Lindgren, a lecturer from Gothenburg University who was visiting NMMU on a scholarship from her university.
On her return to Sweden, Lindgren’s family were caught up in her enthusiasm for the school, and her 18 year old daughter Stina, together with a friend, Sanna Ekman, set about raising funds for the school. Lindgren’s husband Sune, a sports coach, also collected 44 pairs of assorted sports shoes, mostly new, and ten soccer balls. The group arrived in South Africa 3 weeks ago, and after spending some time in Cape Town and PE, came to Aberdeen last week to hand over their donations. The girls had managed to raise a wonderful today of R22000, and together with Dr Greyling, they visited all the bookshops in PE, managing to get a large number of brand-new children’s books at discounted prices.
The adults stayed with Helen Polley, a retired teacher of Aberdeen Primary, while the girls stayed at the school hostel. This was quite a novel experience for them! They are both in their final year of upper secondary school, and the work they have done for Aberdeen Primary will form part of their final school assessment.
The days in Aberdeen were spent covering all the new books –a daunting task in itself- and totally reorganizing the library. Many of the current books were found to be unsuitable for primary school children, and were therefore removed. Where possible they were donated to Aberdeen Secondary, and the remaining books were given to the municipal library. A volunteer, Jolene Williams, who is a past learner of the school, also helped during the week, and is continuing the work in the library.
The children were also very excited about the sports shoes and other sprots equipment. Most of the shoes are multi-purpose, and will be able to be used for sports as varied as netball and rugby. They will be kept by the school, and loaned to the children as needed.
Principal Johan Minnaar is delighted with the work done by the visitors, and is very grateful for the donations. The ongoing support of Dr Greyling, who has now retired from her full-time post at the university, is much appreciated by the staff and the community.
1.Excited pupils show off the new sports shoes with Sune Lindgren and Johan Minnaar
2.Covering books fltr Stina Lindgren, Ann-Charlotte Lindgren, Laetitia Greyling, Jolene Williams
Front Sanna Ekman
3. the children looking at some of the many books donated by the Swedish visitors