Safmarine overcomes logistics nightmare to build new classroom

A REMOTE rural school in the Tyityane village near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape now has eight new classrooms constructed from retired seafreight containers, thanks to a donation from Safmarine.
Two years ago Safmarine responded to a plea to provide new facilities that would replace mud-brick classrooms disintegrating as a result of heavy summer rains. “Safmarine, which has in the past 12 years helped create more than 100 schools, immediately responded to the plea with a donation of eight 12m (forty foot) seafreight containers,” said Safmarine director, Fred Jacobs.
He said the project to build the new classrooms proved to be one of Safmarine’s toughest projects to date as the road to the Tyityane village - which is approximately 120km from Umtata and 35km from Port St Johns - proved to be almost non-existent.
“Trucks delivering the containers were marooned and for months the completion of the project was threatened by the inability to find a trucking company willing and able to transport the containers to the village.”
Attempts to secure helicopters to transport the containers also proved unsuccessful, due to their weight. Determined to provide the community with classrooms, Safmarine and Project Literacy (representing the Tyityane community), approached the Department of Public Works to grade the road, and the remaining containers were eventually delivered to the site.
The new classrooms have led to an increase in both the number of educators (from five
to 12) and pupils (from 200 to around 500).