Private donors have stepped in to help rebuild a school that suffered millions of rand in damage when a tornado tore through uThongathi in June, because the KwaZulu-Natal education department is cash-strapped.
Seatides Combined School was one of the schools worst affected by the tornado, which caused extensive damage to more than 20 schools in uThongathi and surrounding areas, claimed 11 lives and left thousands of people displaced.
The tornado ripped the roofs off several of the school's buildings, damaging more than 40 classrooms, while the subsequent flooding destroyed almost all of the equipment in the library and laboratories. The cost of repairs is estimated at R25m.
“The entire school was destroyed. Books, machinery, the equipment ... nothing was spared,” said school governing body (SGB) chair Jonathan Naidoo.
In response, provincial education MEC Sipho Hlomuka handed more than 30 mobile classrooms to the school in July, turning the sports ground into a temporary venue for teaching and learning.
As much as the intervention was appreciated as a temporary measure, parents have been concerned as, three months after the tornado, repairs have not yet started. “There’s no shelter or play area. There are no trees nor shelter for them [the pupils] to have their lunch breaks. The place is not tarred, so it will be an issue with mud when it rains. They have JoJo tanks for water, [and] I’m not sure how good or safe it is,” said parent Dan Rajkumar.
Another parent, who asked not to be named, said the learning and teaching experience was not viable. “We had to do something because it is not fair to the children. How do they come to school and see it in ruins every day? It is a constant reminder of the tornado. It is very traumatic.”
An official at the school said the SGB, which has been in communication with the education department, eventually persuaded it to give the green light to private donors to commence with repairs.
The school had raised some funds and attracted some donors, headed by Gift of the Givers, which has raised about R4m to repair two blocks at the school, the official said.
“So far we’re busy with the senior block and the arts block, which total about R3.7m. The two blocks have about 15 classrooms,” said Bilal Jeewa from Gift of the Givers.
“One block is a three-storey building where almost the entire structure was affected. Aside from the roof, it’s the windows, doors, electricity, plumbing ... that need repair work. The slab collapsed and the sand is up to the windows in some instances, so we also need excavators for cleaning up.”
Jeewa said there was still a long way to go. The school has 10 blocks, as well as walkways, which all need repairs.
“We plan to complete our portion by December. Total repairs will probably be completed by June 2025.”
He said Gift of the Givers became involved when the school appealed to them for help as the department of education did not have the funds.
The department, which was allocated R63bn of KwaZulu-Natal’s R150bn budget in this financial year, did not respond to queries.
