BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – World Vision Eswatini (WVE) has helped with intervention which stopped class disturbances at Welcome Primary School.
For years, learners from Welcome Primary had been juggling classes and fetching water for the school, compelling the school to be an inappropriate learning environment.
According to Sibongile Nxumalo, a teacher from the Primary School located at Dumenkungweni community, the school would pause class sessions so that the learners would fetch water in containers.
“I started teaching here in 2006, and things were really out of hand. Classes were paused and learners would travel a distance of about 1 km to fetch water for the school. This water was for cleaning, drinking, cooking, and so forth,” explained Nxumalo.
She further said children were negatively influenced by the educational disruption, and this resulted in poor academic achievement of learners.
As means of ensuring that all children are educated for life, in a safe and nurturing environment, in order to lead productive and fulfilling lives, World Vision intervened and brought water closer to the school that currently has enrolment of 77 children.
“Since 2019, this school has taken a turnaround, thanks to World Vision and Rotary Club. We have three tanks, fencing for our school gardens, tank stands and water is right inside these school premises, no one has to fetch water from rivers anymore,” Nxumalo said.
Nxumalo pointed out that having easier access to water has improved other challenges they faced as a school.
“A lot has changed; cases of learners complaining about stomach irritations caused by dirty water are a thing of the past; we have a school garden now, the school has definitely achieved proper hygiene and sanitation and, we cannot wait to see how our learners perform this academic year since they have been doing so well,” she said.
World Vision serves children and families in some of the world’s toughest places and ensures that all children have the right to a safe, inclusive and quality education.
