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REMAINING CONGRESS BAGS FOR TOWNSHIPS CHILDREN
After the very successful XXIXth International Congress of the ISBT
in Cape Town earlier this month, quite a few congress bags were left
over or were returned by delegates to the organizers office. These bags
were offered to the management of the Cape Town International Convention
Centre, who make an effort to distribute left over congress bags at
schools in the local townships to be used by their students as proper
school bags.
On the 24th of September South Africa celebrated its Heritage day, and
Dirk Elzinga, General Manager of the CTICC, decided to make a trip to
the farm and township Platfontein near the mining city Kimberley. It is
to this farm that the government of South Africa in the nineties
relocated 4 500 members of the SAN community, an almost forgotten group
of the indigenous population of this country. They have been working and
living in Namibie, Angola and South Africa for centuries, mainly as farm
workers and hunters. In several wars they worked for the South African
army. There are only 30 000 SAN people left, and they probably are the
poorest of the poor South Africans.
The artist who made the original design for the artwork in the entrance
hall of the CTICC, Stefaans Samcuia, worked with and was part of an art
community there. He sadly passed away just two weeks before the CTICC
openend in 2003. Dirk Elzinga wanted to pay tribute to him, visit his
wife, children and colleagues and tell them about how Stefaans’ work is
being appreciated.
The CTICC staff collected many boxes of clothes, toys and food for the
SAN community. Very much appreciated were the ISBT congress bags, which
were handed over to the principal of the only school in Platfontein. The
school has 1100 registered pupils, but that certainly does not mean they
are all and every day in the class rooms. Platfontein is not a very
child friendly environment. Because the inhabitants are so poor and the
level of unemployment is extremely high, there is a lot of alcohol
abuse. Some children decide to leave the township around pay-day and
live a few days in the fields around the township because they are
afraid for the fighting going on at these times. Other children don’t
even have parents and just look after each other.
As the pictures show, the ISBT contribution to the upliftment of the
school society in Platfontein was very much appreciated. A better use of
the left over congress bags is hardly thinkable. |
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