Caring corporates invest in education of Diepsloot schoolchildren

Tsogo Sun’s flagship entertainment property, Montecasino, in partnership with Servest, Bidvest Prestige, Trango Risk Management, Letlapa First Park, and Da Tasty TakeAways recently handed over an Audio-Visual Mobile Library to the Grade 0 to 3 classes of the Akani Primary School in Diepsloot.

Ryan Nicholas (Operations Manager of Montecasino), Glenn Joseph (General Manager of Montecasino), 

Deidre Jameson (Montecasino Property Manager) and Mama Doreen (Principal of Akani Primary School),

 with the donated Audio-Visual Mobile Library and some of the happy students.

In line with their innovative CSI strategy – which has as one of its main focus areas the education of children in the Diepsloot area, and specifically the students of the Akani Primary School, whom Montecasino staff have adopted as their own – Montecasino is proud to have been the driving force behind the donation of the Mobile Library which includes:

· 32” built-in flat screen television;

· 500 educational and fictional books – with 10% of those in indigenous languages, ensuring that the non-English speaking students see themselves represented in the community;

· A DVD player;

· 25 educational DVDs.

Says Montecasino General Manager Glenn Joseph:  “Education, and along with it community development, is a core element of Montecasino’s strategic plans and a philosophy that is very much a part of the Tsogo Sun Learning Academy ethos. We saw the need for a library resource within Akani Primary School and felt an obligation to fill the gap. Libraries are important elements in child development; through books and other educational resources children learn to share, to be engaged in their communities, to participate in the arts, and to explore their immediate world and the world at large.”

Montecasino staff members pledge their own time and money to the Akani Primary School, and take great pride in raising the funds needed to add to the students’ lives. In addition to the financial funding provided to the school, Montecasino staff members have a calendar in place for the year, aimed at exposing the children to experiences that a more privileged child might enjoy, such as outings to the Montecasino Bird Gardens and tickets to many of the spectacular shows taking to the stage at the Teatro at Montecasino, and a Christmas party for the children.

“We want to give these children a better chance at making the most of their lives and give them a strong foundation from which to grow.  If we can make a real difference in the lives of a handful of children, then we will have made a meaningful contribution to society. Our only hope is that the donation of this mobile library can go a long way in ensuring that the children of the Diepsloot Akani Primary School are able to benefit from a facility the school would not otherwise be able to afford,” concludes Joseph.

To find out more about Montecasino’s CSI initiatives, visit www.montecasino.co.za.

Issued on behalf of Montecasino by Strategic Public Relations.