St Paul’s ‘Shoebox Project’ Donates Blankets and Food

With the freezing temperatures making waves around the country, St Paul’s College has taken the initiative to start a project to donate to the less fortunate. The ‘Shoebox Project’, aimed at supporting other schools, has already reached out to two schools outside of Windhoek.

Run by Biology teacher Wilma Cloete, the project has impacted hundreds of children’s lives in a positive way and the statistics are testimony to that.

“One really does not comprehend the true essence of the smallest act of caring. The reason why I call it ‘small’ because things like toothbrushes and food, for example, have become a necessity that we so easily take for granted,” said Svenja Schumann, a Grade 12 pupil at the school.

The College visited Petrus Vries Primary School (35km south of Rehoboth) and Tsumisfarm Primary School (56km south of Rehoboth) and the children were absolutely overjoyed to receive the heartfelt treats.

The box of surprises included a blanket and an orange which was distributed to each child as well as to all staff members. The College also donated bags upon bags with goodies such as meat, soup, jams, beans, sugar, maize meal and more “to ensure that this cold winter would be made more bearable for them.”

St Paul’s didn’t stop there. A soup kitchen at a primary school in Rehoboth received 200 stainless steel plates, an array of non-perishable food items and according to the school, 300 boxes in total were handed out this year alone.

“To think that hundreds of lives have been changed in a matter of days really is remarkable,” said Svenja.

Many school-going children in Namibia are still struggling to obtain basic necessities, and on top of that, the harshness of winter makes studying a difficult task to overcome.

Svenja further encouraged other schools to follow through with acts of kindness as it changes many lives.

“When a community of giving pupils, such as that of our school, comes together and commits to making an effort to give back, we can truly achieve the unthinkable. I believe that the true essence of this project is not so much the giving, but how much love is put into it, that really makes the biggest difference. It is what gives hope to the discouraged and strength to the weak and thanks to all those who contributed, this was achieved.”

In the printed version of this article we made an error in the headline. The headline reads ‘St Paul’s ‘Shoebox Project’ Donates Blacks and Food’. It should read ‘St Paul’s ‘Shoebox Project’ Donates Blankets and Food’. We regret the error.

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