Over R600 million spent in 16 years to help redress historic disadvantage
The 100th Garden Cities Archway Foundation school hall, to coincide with the centenary this year of the Western Cape’s oldest residential development company, was handed over to Balvenie Primary School in Elsie’s River on Saturday September 14. The more than R7 million hall is one of the hundreds more that are still needed by historically under-resourced schools in the Western Cape. So far, in the past 16 years, the Foundation has provided the one hundred halls, valued at a total of more than R600 million, to schools in the Cape Peninsula and as far afield as Oudtshoorn, Worcester, Great Brak River, Ceres and Saldanha Bay.
The ribbon-cutting and commemorative plaque-unveiling ceremony was attended by members of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) which has more recently partnered the Archway Foundation with funding for the halls as well as members of the Board of Garden Cities, and Balvenie Primary staff and governing body members.
Balvenie primary school principal Mrs Farieda Wakefield and Ms Eleanor Braaf, principal at Portland primary school.- Chairperson of the Archway Foundation Mrs Myrtle february and Mr Charles Amos
- Garden Cities CEO Mr John Matthews, and Dr Brenda Matthews
- Garden cities CFO Ms Karen Milan and Mr Tristan Shadrach
- Garden Cities Chairman Mr Sean Stuttaford (right), with Garden Cities Director Mr Tony Marsh and Mrs Marianne Marsh
- Garden Cities Director Mr Jannie Isaacs and programme director, Ms Anne Siroky
- Mr John Matthews, group CEO of Garden Cities, unveils the commemorative plaque at the opening of the Balvenie primary school Archway Foundation hall in Elsie’s river, with Mrs Farieda Wakefield, the school’s principal and Mr Grant Adonis, Balvenie primary SBG Chairman
