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The club is called Njube Helping Hand and was formed last month.
About 50 pupils from the school were on Monday given sets of uniforms, exercise books and sanitary ware among other items, at the official launch of the club.
Fourteen girls from the school and an A-Level IsiNdebele teacher, Ms Alice Chauke, started the club.
Speaking at the occasion, Ms Chauke, who is the club’s patron said they were touched by the plight of the orphaned pupils and decided to help them.
“The club is the brainchild of 14 girls and aims to mobilise resources for disadvantaged children,” said Ms Chauke.
She said many underprivileged pupils were performing badly in their schoolwork because they had no provisions like stationery and uniforms.
“We noticed that a number of them were not doing their school work because they did not have books. You will realise that good education provides a strong foundation in the life of every child and it is a treasure that nobody can take away from them. It is with that background that Njube Helping Hand was initiated.
“About 50 pupils benefited today in the form of uniforms, books and sanitary pads donated by businesses like Cafamo Bridals, Omni Africa, Mrs Sibusisiwe Moyo of Dorchester House, Manyathela Investments, Toppers Uniforms and Esats.
“The club is an all-running project and we are still open to more donations because we do not want a situation whereby we start looking for goods when we are in critical situations. We are grateful for the donations and we realise that the corporate world cares for orphans and we wish them well in their business,” said Ms Chauke.
Once the club identifies a needy pupil, school counsellors would interview the child to establish his or her background.
The school authorities said they were grateful to Ms Chauke and club members.
The school head, Mr Casper Ndebele, said the gesture was a sign that the club was growing in terms of appreciation of the needy children.
He said the school had about 200 orphaned children.
“We are so grateful because this shows that our pupils feel pity for their disadvantaged colleagues as shown by the response in terms of support on resource mobilisation and on the launch today. I believe those who benefited would perform better because now their confidence in class has been boosted. We would also want to thank the corporate world and individuals for the support and willingness to give a helping hand so that we improve our education and livelihood of these children,” said Mr Ndebele.
He said although some of the children were getting assistance in terms of school fees through the Basic Education Assistance Module, there was still a lot to be done on their day-to-day livelihoods.
“Besides fees, pupils still have to dress properly and have stationery, which makes this club handy and we hope it will last for many years,” said Mr Ndebele.
The guest of honour, Mr Denford Mapisa, from Toppers Uniforms, said they welcomed the idea of the club because as an organisation, they wanted to give back to the community.
“This is not the first time we are giving back to the community but this is a unique way because the club is the first of its kind. We realised that most of the children have torn uniforms and as such we will continue assisting,” said Mr Mapisa.
Online Reporter