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Vissershok fun and festivities!

Psitek holds a Christmas bash for kids at needy Vissershok Primary School

Cape Town, 4 December 2008 - Pupils of Vissershok Primary School, located 11 km outside Durbanville, were able to experience a few hours of exuberant fun and festivity on Wednesday 3 December at the Christmas bash held for them by Psitek, the offices of which are in Tygervalley.

Extending a much needed helping hand to the school forms an integral part of Psitek’s corporate social investment programme.  In addition to holding the Christmas party at Hooggekraal Farm, which is opposite Vissershok Primary, Psitek supports the school with its ‘Sandwich Factory’ on an ongoing basis.  The Sandwich Factory is a food distribution project that provides lunches for the children at various schools and organisations.  Psitek in conjunction with other corporations makes and supplies sandwiches to Vissershok Primary on a weekly basis.

Vissershok Primary School is one of the most needy farm schools in the Durbanville and Tableview vicinities.  It has 360 pupils who are the children of farm workers and people living in underprivileged townships and squatter camps in the Durbanville and Tableview surrounds.  Many of the pupils come from the poverty-stricken township of Du Noon.

However, on 3 December, in true Christmas spirit Boerewors rolls and cold drinks, a much anticipated visit from Santa Claus, and surprise Christmas party packs were the order of the day!  Face painting, jumping castles, a clown and magician show complemented the activities.

Vissershok has been in existence since 1973, when it was started by a group of farm owners living in the areas situated around Klein Vissershok.  As the number of pupils grew, a larger school building was needed and this was then built in 1987.  The number of pupils has continued to increase, particularly in the last few years.  Classes are therefore large with about 40 pupils in each class, and this year the Grade 6 class had no less than 59 pupils!  A high percentage of the parents are unemployed and have tremendous financial burdens.  This means they are often hard-pressed to contribute to school fees, which has a negative impact on the school’s funds, and sadly many of the school’s planned initiatives cannot be implemented.  In the winter months absenteeism from the school is high.  This is because pupils need to be on the road before 6am to reach school on time – not an easy situation in freezing cold weather!  The route the children must walk to reach the bus stop is also not particularly safe.   The pupils’ difficult situation is sometimes exacerbated by family violence.

It is from Psitek’s firm commitment to the greater community that the CSI programme was developed.  The initiative focuses on projects that assist in education, and lead to growth and empowerment in South Africa.

Psitek is a company which develops solutions using cellular and wireless technologies to provide access to voice and data services to people in under-serviced areas.  Integral to the company’s ethos is to be caring and supportive of the communities in which it operates.  The company strives to make a difference to the communities in a manner that is meaningful and long lasting, and to build mutually-beneficial relationships based on the principles of trust and understanding. 

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