Education is a fundamental driver of personal, national and global development. The Cotton On Foundation has been working with eThekwini Primary School for years, which is located in the heart of KwaMashu to create an additional 1,280 educational placements, made possible through extensive infrastructure upgrades, which the non-profit has funded and managed. According to Natalie Wills, country manager, Cotton On Group, “eThekwini Primary School is the twenty-fourth Cotton On Foundation supported school that has opened around the globe. And it’s especially important to us because it’s our first Foundation supported school here in South Africa,”.
Globally, the Cotton On Group sells one Foundation item every 2 and a half seconds, with 100% of the proceeds funnelled into the non-profit’s projects. In South Africa specifically, R33.6 million has been raised from the sale of Foundation items in store, all of it going towards educational projects in some of SA’s most at-risk communities.
Through her foundation, The Nomzamo Mbatha lighthouse foundation, the Human Rights Activist focuses on the importance of education. In partnership with Hollywoodbets, she announced last month that they will be donating R1 million towards tertiary bursaries that will be awarded to students in need in South Africa. Furthermore, Nomzamo Mbatha has been named the first Cotton On Foundation Ambassador in South Africa. One of her major roles as an Ambassador will be to assist the Cotton On Foundation with its goal to deliver quality education to young South Africans.
Mbatha decided to affiliate herself with the foundation because she grew up in Kwamashu. The Isibaya Actress uses her personal experiences to drive her advocacy for young people accessing quality education regardless of their personal or financial circumstances. “It is a heartwarming and fulfilling moment for me to be part of the Thekwini Primary, in the township that raised me, Kwamashu. Education is incredibly close to my heart, as it was my way out. My mother is a teacher so I understand the impact of the Foundations partnership with eThekwini Primary School” said Mbatha.
The Foundation’s next local project partner is Dr JL Dube High School, also located in KwaMashu. This project brings to life the Foundation’s ‘Child’s Journey’ model and will close the loop on local children gaining quality education in KwaMashu from primary through to secondary school.
