"We are committed to investing in South Africa's future leaders," said Tim Schweikert, president and CEO of GE South Africa. "GE's goal is to improve lives across the globe. Our contribution to Kromdraai is an immediate solution that will benefit the community."
The donation will provide 75 children with access to fully-equipped education facilities in converted shipping containers called edutainers. In addition, 50 adults will benefit from schooling and training in the edutainers in the evenings. The Department of Education will staff and manage the facility for the community which does not currently have adequate school facilities.
GE selected Kromdraai for the donation as it is one of the communities targeted by the Gauteng provincial government for poverty relief and development in the 20 Prioritised Townships Programme. The programme is an undertaking by the Gauteng provincial government, municipalities and parastatals to provide social and economic infrastructure to build sustainable communities. The donation of these edutainers also supports South Africa's Education for All initiative, which lists access to early childhood development and access to free and compulsory primary education among its six goals.
GE invests not only in the education of children and future leaders, but also in their well-being. Last week, GE announced a donation of $1m to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund to help realise the late former President Nelson Mandela's lasting wish to provide world-class child healthcare through the establishment of the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital.
"Every child deserves the right to education and the opportunity to succeed. We hope this contribution will help make that possible for children in Kromdraai and will create a pipeline for future leaders and, possibly, GE employees,'' Schweikert said.
