The Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror newspapers brought joy to the lives of the members of the Faranani Trust on Thursday last week with the donation of some R10 000 worth of educational aids.

Situated in the tranquil Levubu Valley, the Faranani Trust concentrates on training early childhood development (ECD) practitioners. As an accredited training institution, practitioners receive a national certificate in ECD Level 4 upon completion of the course.

"It is our purpose to empower as many rural women and children in the region with quality and practical training in ECD," says Mr T G Madzaga, chairperson of the board of trustees since 1997. "Our drive is to strengthen communities this way and to ensure that as many children as possible are well prepared and school-ready to enter the formal educational system," he adds.

As a non-profit organization, Faranani greatly depends on donations to assist them in their crucial and worthy course. This was also the motivation which convinced the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror to invest in the sustainable future of Faranani. The newspaper group’s donation consisted of a 74cm television, DVD/CD home theatre system and a large magnetic educational white presentation board. The sponsorship was also made possible by Solly’s Discount World of Louis Trichardt and Surat Trading Co, who made the equipment available at below-cost prices.

Faranani’s project manager, Ms Joy Nel, expressed her gratitude towards the newspaper group’s donation and said she could’t wait to start using the equipment for training.

"I know the trainers who will use the equipment will enjoy working with "new technology". It makes their work so much easier," she said.

Ms Nel also expressed her thanks towards Mr Solly Noor (Solly’s) and Mr Pretesh Patel (Surat) for their contributions and said that she knew them as people who would not hesitate to support a project they believed in.

For more information about the Faranani Trust, phone Ms Nel at Tel 082 598 6334 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Alternatively, phone the office at 015 583 0555/2025 or write to PO Box 226, Levubu, 0929.