Our Venetia mine in Limpopo is at the forefront of our education drive, having partnered with the Department of Education last year to provide infrastructure to 11 schools in the Musina and Blouberg areas.
Building on this, Venetia has added two more education-based community development programmes this year.
Grootpan Community Crèche
The Grootpan Community Crèche was officially opened in June and provides refuge to children between the ages of four and six years old.
To date, we have donated R2.2 million (US$180,000) to help transform the Grootpan Community Crèche from a small mud structure with outside toilets to a modern Early Childhood Development Centre boasting a borehole, septic tank, furniture and playground facilities.
Now, the centre houses over 60 children and forms an integral part of the community.
Ratanang Special School Hostel
Together with the Limpopo Department of Education and the Minister of Mineral Resources, we helped re-open the Ratanang Special School Hostel at Senwabarwana in Blouberg for children with special needs.
In 2006, we partnered with the Department of Education in Limpopo to help build the hostel facilities at the school, which accommodated more than 320 learners.
Completed in 2010, this venture saw each partner contribute R6 million (US$490,000), resulting in a R12 million (US$975,000) injection into the lives of children who need it most.
Unfortunately, a catastrophic storm ploughed through the area in 2012, and most of the school’s hostel infrastructure was blown away. The renovation work cost close to R7.2 million (US$585,000) to restore the facility.
The re-opening of the school in 2014 brought renewed hope to the community.
Theo Machaba, who has attended Ratnanang Special School for 15 years, shared that before the hostel was built, children at the school would have to help their teachers convert their classrooms into sleeping quarters at the end of each day
