Fund Life-Changing Education for 201 African Kids

Dear Friends,

We are excited to share the progress at our Primary School as we work towards creating a safe, supportive, and impactful learning environment for our children. With your generous support, we’ve been able to accomplish a great deal over the years, but there is still much to be done to ensure that we continue to grow sustainably and meet the needs of our students.

Key Updates and Developments:

1. Expansion of Community Programs:
   In addition to our core mission of providing quality education, We're now offers a space for community programs focused on women’s empowerment. In partnership with another program and Action Change we're started offering sewing classes to help local women gain skills and earn a livelihood, further contributing to the development of the surrounding community.

2. Grade 7 Class Opening:
   A generous donation allowed us to build and open a new Grade 7 classroom, which welcomed its first cohort of students in January 2025 under the leadership of Ms. Jacobs. This marks a huge milestone for the school, as we are now a fully functioning primary school, providing education from Grade R through Grade 7 - it's finally offical! We started with these grade 7's back in the early days when they joined our first ever Grade R class and by adding a class each year these original students moved up they have begain their last year of primary school education - we did it with your help!!!

3. Improvements to School Grounds:
   Our students have been actively involved in the beautification of the school grounds by planting plants and working to make their environment more welcoming. This effort is not only about aesthetics but also about instilling a sense of ownership and pride in their school.

4. Financial Sustainability and Shortfall:
   Through careful budgeting and forecasting, we’ve identified a monthly funding shortfall of 65,000 ZAR (approximately $3,300 USD). This gap is challenging, but we’re committed to finding ways to raise the necessary funds to ensure the school’s continued operation and success and we're planning to reach out to corporates, alumni, grant opportunities and look at running some exciting fudraisers. We actually did our first local quiz night that was a great success.

5. Urgent Need for School Security:
   A critical priority for us is raising 1.1 million ZAR (approximately $56,000 USD) to build a secure perimeter wall around the entire school. Over the past few years, the school has experienced break-ins and gang-related incidents, and the safety of both our students and staff is a top concern. The wall will provide essential protection for the school and give everyone peace of mind, we know it's not the most exciting thing to donate too but it is really important to us.

6. Plans for Classroom Expansion:
   We are also planning to build two new classrooms over the next 2-3 years to accommodate the growing number of students. The estimated cost for this project is 2 million ZAR (approximately $100,000 USD), and we are actively seeking funding to make this a reality.

7. Re-Zoning for Government Recognition:
   Another exciting development is that Bhongolethu Primary is working to become officially recognized by the government as a full primary school. To do so, we need to re-zone the property, which involves preparing land plans and completing a lengthy process that will take 12-18 months and cost approximately 300,000 ZAR (around $15,000 USD). This step is crucial as it will allow us to access government funding, which will help alleviate our financial shortfall.

Looking Ahead:
As we continue our work, the next steps for Bhongolethu Primary School will focus on:

• Raising funds to fill the monthly shortfall and ensuring the continued operation of the school.

• Prioritizing the security wall to safeguard our students and staff.

• Funding Breakfast for all our students daily to help them stay alert and active to learn

• Expanding our classroom space to accommodate future growth and ensure every child has access to a safe and quality learning environment.

• Completing the re-zoning process so that we can access government funding to support our programs and infrastructure.

We remain incredibly grateful for your continued support and believe that with your help, we can achieve these goals. Together, we are creating a brighter future for the children of our Primary School and the community as a whole.

Thank you for your dedication and generosity. With your help, we will continue to make a lasting impact.

Sincerely,

Ty