Temperance Town Primary School

Faced with overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teaching assistants, the staff at Temperance Town Primary School near Gordon's Bay came up with an extraordinary solution. They would pay for additional assistants out of their own salaries.

Unfortunately, they could only afford six of the seven assistants they needed.

Enter Clarence October, a 22-year-old Unisa teaching student who volunteered to fill the gap. For three years, she worked with learners in Grades 4 to 7 without receiving a cent.

When Proud Partners heard her story, we decided that such dedication deserved a little help. From March 2014, we funded Clarence's salary until she completed her teaching qualification and left the school in 2016.

That same spirit of commitment extended throughout Temperance Town. Under principal Gwen Opperman, the school received three Department of Education awards for academic progress, while a feeding programme led by Dr Elsa Verwey and the Dutch Reformed Church in Gordon's Bay, together with the departmental scheme, provided more than 500 children with nutritious daily meals.

For Proud Partners, supporting Clarence was a relatively small contribution to a school where people were already doing extraordinary things.

And sometimes, that's exactly what partnership is.