Chinese embassy donates school shoes to needy pupils
THE Chinese embassy in South Africa had donated 2 000 pairs of school shoes in a programme to support economically disadvantaged pupils, according to ambassador Chen Xiaodong.
In a written message sent for the 1 Million School Shoes Campaign’s latest donation drive in Orange Farm in Joburg this weekend, Chen said that although he could not attend the event, his embassy would continue to support the campaign.
“Although we cannot meet in person for now, our hearts are always together. When I first arrived in South Africa in September last year, I heard that, due to the financial straits caused by the [Covid-19] pandemic, many students’ families even had difficulties in buying school shoes. So I immediately expressed my hope to make more contributions to the one million school shoes project,” Chen said.
“So far, we have donated 2 000 pairs of school shoes. Although the number is not big, it embodies the Chinese embassy’s support for local communities’ education,” Chen said.
“The biggest challenge facing South Africa today is the exacerbated poverty caused by the pandemic. As former president [Nelson] Mandela said, education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, and the development of education is the main path to get rid of poverty,” he said.
In a statement on Saturday, the 1 Million School Shoes Campaign said it had distributed 500 pairs of new school shoes to children in Orange Farm. The beneficiary pupils were selected from 12 schools in the area.
The handover was made possible through a generous donation by the Chinese embassy in South Africa, it said.
“As the campaign, we have since inception collected and donated over 150 000 pairs which were donated by individuals, companies and foreign representatives in South Africa,” said campaign secretary Brian Dube.
“We are committed to make a total donation of one million [pairs of school shoes] in our lifetime. Our commitment is to see learners succeed in their education and improving their lives for the better,” he said.