Bright, busy, full of questions and possibilities - the first MavericKids Activity Book drop-off of 2026 has taken place, at Magnolia Primary in Paarl East.

It's first break. The corridors are alive with children who haven't yet learnt to ration their joy. They spill into the courtyard, laughing, chasing, negotiating the rules of games on the fly.

Inside the classrooms, though, the reality sits quietly: too many pupils, too few resources and not nearly enough to go around.

On Monday, 16 March 2026, Daily Maverick joined Gift of the Givers at Magnolia Primary in Paarl East for the first MavericKids Activity Book drop-off of 2026.

A school that stretches what it has

Paarl is sweltering. The kind of heat that clings. Even the fans, working overtime, can't quite cut through the dry air.

As the Gift of the Givers team unpacks 12 boxes stacked with peanut butter and MavericKids books, we wipe our brows and keep moving. The children, by contrast, seem largely unfazed. Many probably arrived hot and hungry, yet still in good spirits.

Magnolia Primary is a Quintile 3 no-fee school serving roughly 600 pupils. Parents aren't required to pay school fees, but that designation brings its own challenges. Resources are limited. Gaps are constant. The school operates through a careful balancing act, stretching what it has, leaning on community support and finding...