Cotton On's philanthropic wing has invested R100m in SA education

Ethekwini Primary School. Image source: Facebook

“We fundraise in our stores globally to finance and oversee quality education projects in under-resourced regions of South Africa, Uganda, Thailand and Australia. It’s a powerful partnership with our customers that will see us developing 20,000 quality educational places by 2020,” says Tim Diamond, GM of the Cotton On Foundation.

“We believe that ensuring young people around the world have access to education is a step towards ending extreme poverty. Education empowers individuals, it builds economies and it reduces inequalities.”

Multi-faceted projects and programmes

The foundation has developed a model which delivers quality education through multi-faceted, scalable and sustainable educational projects and programmes. Its first project in South Africa is the upgrade of Ethekwini Primary School in KwaMashu, Durban which entails the construction of new classrooms, upgrades to ablution facilities, additional teacher training, a nutrition programme and a menstrual hygiene course for girls at the school.

In constructing new classrooms, the foundation has contracted local architect firm Fieldworks Design Group to use green building technologies and install systems for the use of non-potable water in ablution facilities. “We want our work to be scalable and sustainable across multiple developing regions – our goal is widespread change in the lives of young people in South Africa,” says Diamond.

The completion of the Ethekwini Primary School project will bring the foundation’s tally of education places to 10,000, halfway to their target. Next on their agenda will be projects in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces.