Uplifting a community one shoe at a time

Monday, 17 February

The Northern Cape is one of the hottest provinces in South Africa. In summer, temperatures can soar above 40°C and air conditioning is a luxury most can only dream of. Every day children from the rural Soverby Primary School in Upington had to walk barefoot to school, often burning their little feet on the boiling hot sand. This was until the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), in partnership with their service provider, Universal Care, stepped in to provide shoes and socks to each and every child at the school.

What started off as a small initiative called the ‘shoe-a-school' project, conceived by Universal Care in May last year, turned into heart-warming campaign that saw 200 children recently receiving shoes and socks as well as brand new netball and soccer kits. "We chose to adopt a small rural school in the Northern Cape because we wanted to help these children get to school in comfort and with dignity," says Geraldine Bartlett, Director of Care Management at Universal Care. Bata Shoe Company was asked to partner with Universal Care to provide shoes at cost price. GEMS then went beyond the call of duty and also offered to provide the school with soccer and netball kits.

"GEMS takes its community engagement initiatives very seriously. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities where we can uplift disadvantaged communities and lend a helping hand to people who are in need," says Liziwe Nkonyana, Executive of Communications and Member Affairs at GEMS, South Africa's second largest medical scheme. "When we heard about this school in Upington, we were only too happy to assist."

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in September and 200 pairs of shoes and socks were promised for every child. "We were so touched by the plight of the learners at the school that we decided to expand our budget and hand out 200 food parcels to the learners," says Nkonyana. In the food parcels were necessities such as sugar, oil, tinned fish and toiletries. "The excitement and gratitude on the learners' faces when we handed out the food parcels was truly something to behold. They were even more excited when we promised to come back in the new year to hand over the shoes and sports kits."

When Nkonyana and her colleagues returned to Soverby Primary School on 5 February, they were greeted by the prefects of the school, who led them into a school hall packed with parents, teachers and children. "It seemed like the whole village was there to see the children receive the much needed donation," recalls Nkonyana.

"Moments like these are truly humbling. We were particularly moved by the pride and humility of the people we had the privilege of meeting during our time in Upington. We are heartened by the success of the campaign and we are already in the process of conceptualising new CSI projects for GEMS that will follow on from this one," she concludes.