Ithuba-School – where discipline and children smile fit together
South Africa, Mzamba Mouth (view from Pondoland)
Without a doubt working for an international company is interesting – working for an international company, which really lives corporate social responsibility and maintains a lot of social projects is even better: So, as an employee of Bank Austria. member of UniCredit, I get the possibility to work – together with 15 other volunteers – in South Africa for a social project: ITHUBA.
We changed our business clothes for overalls... Here we go!
ITHUBA means “Chance” in Zulu.
In 2010 “Ithuba Wild Coast Community College” was founded in the Eastern Cape – one of the poorest regions in South Africa. At the moment there are approximately 170 kids there – from Grade R (preschool) till Grade 4.
Grade R on their way for a meal...
It´s a wonderful idea of sustainability: The school grows up with the kids: Every year a new building is constructed, so that the highest class will become their schoolhouse for the following year. Let´s take a short visual overview of the school… 
For sure there is also school attendance in South Africa – but the conditions in public schools are partly disastrous - even years after the end of Apartheid.
100 pupils in one class are not uncommon – so it´s clear to our senses that a school day for the pupils of ITHUBA school makes clever and happy ... And after hours of learning and working there is also enough time to have fun at the children´s playground…
Ithuba - there is also time for fun... Every child is allowed to swing twenty times - this rule avoids conflicts and improves the knowledge of counting...
In comparison to the ITHUBA school I would like to show also a picture of a public school, we visited. So everyone can see the necessity to support projects like ITHUBA. That´s ITHUBA school:
It is always kept clean and tidy for the next lessons...
Ithuba ... where tidiness is high on the agenda...
Unfortunately the view of public schools is quite different...
It´s a pity: not everyone has the same opportunities...
If you are looking for further Information, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit the official homepage of Bank Austria concerning this project: http://ithuba.bankaustria.at.
Further impressions about landscape and children smiles of an intensive, busy and unforgettable trip will follow soon.