KWASA COLLEGE, SOUTH AFRICA
Kwasa College, Daggafontein, Springs, South Africa
The Kwasa Centre began in 2003 after the Rev Sharron Dinnie was appointed Rector of the parish of St. Peter and St. Paul in Springs, Johannesburg. She became aware of the plight of children in the Informal Settlement of Daggafontein, a 'shantytown' with deplorable living conditions in a suburb of Springs. Daggafontein has approximately 2200 shacks and over 15000 residents, most of whom are unemployed and poorly educated. There is a high crime rate and many people are living with HIV/AIDS.
Kwasa began as an outreach project on the site of an old mine with dilapidated buildings, no electricity and no funding. It started with 53 pre-school children and, thanks to the commitment of many individuals and organisations, has now developed into Kwasa College, consisting of a Pre-Primary school with 126 children and a Primary School with Grades 1-6 and over 150 children.
'Kwasa' is a Zulu word used to describe the light and peace that comes after darkness. It is the first morning light or the moment after a violent storm, when the clouds part and the sun begins to shine. Read the full story here.
Kwasa College's Student Sponsorship Scheme
This scheme is operated in the UK by the West Green Charitable Trust. It enables individuals or companies to pay the school fees of a student whose parents, carers or child-headed family cannot afford to pay. The scheme operates on a monthly giving of £30, which with Gift Aid covers one student's tuition fees for a year.
Details of how to join the scheme are given here. Latest news from the College is available here.
The story of the 'white building'
In 2003, when Robert Cotton first visited Kwasa, the entrance to the site was dominated by a vast, dilapidated structure. He remembers 'a broken-down building with junkies and alcoholics drinking home-made liquor, past which all children and staff had to walk day by day to reach the sanctuary of school'.
Now that same building is home to a school hall with sound and lighting system, an IT room, offices and reception, and a clinic for the use of both the College and the local community. The story behind this transformation, the result of vision and determination, is told here in words and pictures.
On April 9th 2021 the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra came to visit Kwasa. A narrator introduced the various instruments and ‘told’ the story of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. The children were spellbound and the orchestra full of compliments about their behaviour. The concert finished with the National Anthem.
Sharron said, ‘I sat at the back of the hall during the performance, not able to hold back tears – it was such a BIG moment for me – thinking of everyone who has made it possible for these children to have this kind of exposure and experience’.
A lasting legacy
Twenty-one people from Holy Trinity and St Mary's travelled to South Africa in August 2018 to experience the life of Kwasa College.
CLICK HERE to see photos from the trip.
