May 31, 2004
Former president, Nelson Mandela, today (Monday, 31 May 2004) unveiled a plaque at Rebatlathuto Secondary School in Koppies to celebrate the Shoprite supermarket group’s donation of pre-fabricated classrooms to the Free State Department of Education.
On request of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Africa’s largest retailer embarked on a sustainable project to supply pre-fabricated mobile classrooms to previously disadvantaged schools in the Free State, which are re-deployed to other needy areas when more permanent facilities have been erected.
The donation of pre-fabricated classrooms to the development school forms part of Shoprite’s continued rural schools programme, which looks at innovative ways of supporting education initiatives throughout South Africa.
Whitey Basson, CEO of the Shoprite group, says that the programme is a good example for future co-operation between Government structures and the retail trade: “Shoprite is proud to be associated with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and satisfied that this project will benefit learners in the Free State.