Onalenna Modikwa
27 October 2008
Palapye — Students, teachers and management of Lotsane Senior Secondary School last week demonstrated their compassion and goodwill when they donated a refrigerator to a needy and sugar diabetic student, Bronia Babi.
Babi, 19, is an orphan who is being looked after by his poverty stricken grandfather. His sugar diabetes condition has reached a stage where he has to have insulin injections on a daily basis. But because he and grandfather had no fridge Babi used to bury his medication in the sand and pour water on top to keep it cool before going to school.
His school head of department Jimmy Mathuba heard about Babi's touching situation from other students and eventually approached management to do something for the poor boy. All the people in the school responded positively to Babi's situation as each non-teaching staff contributed P50, teachers P100 and students asked to contribute P2 each.
As a result the school managed to raise P10,000 and bought Babi a fridge. While the school was still organising the fridge, one of the students informed her parent about Babi's plight and the mother offered a cooler box and a daily supply of ice cubes. She also bought a 48kg cylinder for the fridge that the school bought for Babi. The cylinder was handed over at the fridge presentation, which was held at the school last Thursday.
The woman also to restock the fridge monthly and participate in the next project that the school is planning. School head Felix Moriro said in an interview that their gesture was a demonstration to the people that Lotsane SSS was a good school like any other school but had its own character and students. Moriro said what was particularly revealing about Babi's situation was that the student "used his Science lessons to find a substitute" for keeping his medication cool. The improvisation had worked well for the enterprising Babi.
"We have to make an effort to change the image of the school and we are currently working on the Form Fours to infuse discipline and improvement of their academic performances. It is also a call on the community of Palapye to participate in the school's charitable activities." He said the handover was very pathetic as emotion distress was written is everybody's face including students. Babi's grandfather, who received the donations, said Babi would cherish the gift for the rest of his life.
Currently Babi survives from a monthly supply of special diet basket from the hospital social services because of his health condition. Mathuba describes Babi as a very reserved and private student who cannot share his life experience unless thoroughly questioned which is how his touching condition was discovered. "He is an average performing student and sometimes he goes to the hospital struggling with his health condition and sometimes he is hospitalised."
Because of his nature as an introvert and average performing, it has been tricky to establish whether his social condition has a serious impact in his academic performances.
Mathuba however said during his face was lighter during the donation. He is hopeful that the humanitarian gesture demonstrated by the school would also serve as a form of therapy for his emotions.
"We want to relieve him of the burden of his social background so that he can focus more on his education. The donation would not have come at a more opportune time than now when he is sitting for his final examinations."
Since being admitted at Lotsane Senior School, Babi, who has not been exempted from school fees as a needy student owes school fees from second term last year up to now but the school Guidance and Counselling department is doing everything possible to ensure that the debt is written off lest he does not progress beyond Cambridge.
Another project that the school is currently working on is the purchase of an artificial leg for another student whose leg was amputated after he got sick. Mathuba said he discovered the boy on crutches around the school and after some assessment he discovered that the boy could have been provided with an artificial leg but the process at the Department of Social Services was painstakingly slow. The school has now taken it upon themselves to ensure that the boy leads a normal life again. "The quality of the artificial leg that we want needs costs P35,000 and the government is heavily subsidising hence he wants only P4,000."
He is hopeful that by next week all the materials will be available so that he can revert to his natural lifestyle.
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