Orange Farm learners receive Mandela Day donation

ORANGE FARM —  Approximately 250 learners at Intlonipho Primary School in Orange Farm received school uniforms and stationery as part of an initiative by Old Mutual and the Kasi Angels Foundation to mark Mandela Day 2026.

The organisations visited the school on Monday, 27 July, donating uniforms and stationery to learners, as well as 50 boxes of Typek paper to support teaching and learning at the school.

The initiative is aimed at helping learners attend school with dignity and confidence, while easing some of the financial pressure faced by vulnerable families in the community.

According to Intlonipho Primary School principal Mrs Zanele Mashugane, the donation comes at an important time, with many learners coming from households facing financial hardship.

“We are in an impoverished community. A number of learners are being raised by grandparents who are relying on SASSA grants,” Mashugane said.

She said some learners had previously struggled to attend school because they did not have the required uniform.

“With uniform, some of the learners don’t have uniforms, so this donation is going to go a long way for learners who are struggling. We are now going to have 100% attendance of learners. There won’t be any excuses for some of the learners to miss school because of not having uniform,” she said.

Mashugane thanked Old Mutual and the Kasi Angels Foundation for selecting Intlonipho Primary School as one of their Mandela Day beneficiaries.

“Thank you to Old Mutual and Kasi Angels for considering our school as one of the schools you decided to show compassion to for Mandela Day. We really appreciate that you made sure that learners in our community are clothed,” she said.

For Kasi Angels Foundation representative Gerald Nomlala, the initiative forms part of a much larger mission to address the challenges faced by learners who do not have basic school necessities.

Nomlala said the foundation is working towards donating one million pairs of school shoes to learners across South Africa.

The organisation has so far distributed 90,000 pairs of school shoes, with the latest contribution made possible through support from Old Mutual.

“Today we’ve reached 90 000 pairs that we have given away courtesy of Old Mutual, who bought shoes for our foundation to bring to Intlonipho Primary School in Orange Farm,” Nomlala said.

He said partnerships with companies such as Old Mutual are important because they allow the foundation to reach more learners in communities where basic school necessities remain out of reach for many families.

“Collaborating with Old Mutual means a lot because it’s tough for us to get companies that would like to join forces with us,” he said.

For Nomlala, the foundation's work is also rooted in his own childhood experience. He recalled missing two years of schooling because he did not have school shoes.

“As a child, I lost two years of my schooling because I didn’t have school shoes. It’s part of my therapy to help a learner with school shoes because I understand what it’s like to not have them,” he said.

The donations at Intlonipho Primary School come as communities across the country continue to grapple with the financial challenges that can prevent children from accessing basic educational necessities.

For the learners who received the support, the uniforms, stationery and other resources are more than material donations. They provide practical assistance to families while helping learners arrive at school feeling confident, prepared and included.

The initiative reflects the continued role of community and corporate partnerships in addressing barriers to education and ensuring that learners have the basic resources they need to remain in the classroom.