WESSA Schools Programme Annual Report 2019/2020

Retlakgona Primary School

Rustenburg, North West

RETLAKGONA PRIMARY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB: NONHLANHLA MAPHANGA’S STORY OF CHANGE I grew up in Swaziland with my mother. My father, who was based in Mpumalanga, grew fields of maize and vegetables for sale to the local community. We saved because we didn’t spend money buying vegetables. I studied tourism management at Durban University of Technology. While working in the tourism industry, I completed my Bachelor of Education degree part-time through UNISA. Soon after starting teaching in 2014, I transferred to teach here at Retlakgona Primary School, in Meriting, Rustenburg. Having been introduced to the Eco- School Programme at my previous school, I was excited when my colleague, Mrs Segale, suggested that we should start an environmental club at Retlakgona Primary. We contacted WESSA, joined the Eco-Schools Programme and the Retlakgona Environmental Club presently includes 60 learners and four teachers. OUR PROJECTS Most of our learners come from poor backgrounds, where a balanced diet is often not maintained, so we wanted to add fresh vegetables to their school food rather than just serve bread for school lunches. We started a food garden project to teach learners how to produce their own food. The learners water the garden and members of the local community also help with garden maintenance.

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