Many children in South Africa, particularly in rural areas do not have access to safe, hygienic ablution facilities, putting learners at risk and impacting their education and overall wellbeing. This stark reality compromises learners' rights to health, education, and dignity.
Over 280 schools in South Africa still have pit latrines as the only form of sanitation, meaning learners have to deal with unhygienic and unsafe conditions. These learners’ education is impacted and as a result some children do not eat during the day so that they do not have to use these dangerous pit latrines and in terms of menstrual health, girls avoid going to school during their menstrual cycle.
The Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) programme, which provides safe ablution facilities and restores the dignity of learners and educators, is spearheaded by the Department of Basic Education. Its primary objective is to replace basic pit toilets with appropriate sanitation in accordance with Norms and Standards for school infrastructure.
Enhancing education outcomes for all South African children is a core focus area for Sibanye-Stillwater and its foundation donated R23 million to SAFE to eradicate pit latrines in rural schools in the Limpopo and the Eastern Cape provinces.
Limpopo
As part of the SAFE initiative, in April, the Sibanye-Stillwater Foundation in partnership with The Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Development Trust, Gift of the Givers and Breadline Africa, officially handed over upgraded ablution facilities at St Marks College and St Marks Primary in Jane Furse in the Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo.
At St Marks College, which has 673 students and 31 teachers, the flush toilets were not working, some of the Enviroloo toilets were clogged and there was limited water from a borehole system as the pipes were rusted.
The scope of work at St Marks College undertaken by Breadline Africa and funded by Sibanye-Stillwater was to provide functioning and safe sanitation by retrofitting new low flush toilets and a dry sanitation system.
The existing non-functional full flush toilets were replaced with 33 approved Polymer EaziFlush™ Low Flush pedestals equipped with child seat lids, flanges, p-traps and 16 x 60L Flush on Demand Backup Reservoir Tanks. In addition, essential facilities, including safety-latched doors, concrete steps, sanitary bins, and mirrors, were installed.
The existing Enviroloo toilets system was replaced with 10 new urine diversion pedestals with incorporated child seat lids, four waterless urinals, concrete Grade R steps, and essential supplies including toilet brushes, toilet roll holders, sanitary bins, and mirrors. EaziSoak chambers with endcaps were installed for urine soak away.
Three 2,700L EaziWash hand wash stations were erected on foundation blocks and anti-corrosion treated steel stands, each fitted with three self-cleaning and self-closing EaziTaps, basins and vandal deterrent XOPI Soap dispensers. Old pit latrine structures were demolished and secured.
At St Marks Primary, where 634 scholars are educated by 25 teachers, 16 EaziFlush™ low flush toilets, 12 approved Enviroloo pedestals and four urinals were retrofitted along with child seats, steps for Grade R students and hand washing basins. The issue of water supply was resolved by installing water tanks.
Eastern Cape
At Ngqanda Junior Secondary School in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape 70 scholars and five staff members had no option but to use pit latrines housed in a crumbling and unsafe building. There was no access to water on site, no functioning taps, and rainwater harvesting and tanker deliveries were unreliable.
Through funding from the Sibanye-Stillwater Foundation, Breadline Africa built a new ablution structure with EaziSoak chambers with endcaps for urine soak away, a concrete walkway and guttering for rain harvesting. The new cubicles were fitted with toilet pedestals with approved child safety seating. In addition, two waterless urinals with steps for Grade R students were installed, as well as a unit for disabled learners, water tanks and basins for handwashing. Toilet brushes, toilet roll holders, sanitary bins and mirrors were supplied.
In 2023, Sibanye-Stillwater handed over new sanitation blocks to schools in the Eastern Cape, as part of a campaign initiated by President Cyril Ramaphosa for government and corporates to join forces in delivering safe sanitation at rural schools. The Group contributed R16 million to complete sanitation blocks at seven schools. The school beneficiaries were Marubeni Primary Junior School, Ndlantaka Junior Secondary, Candulwandle Junior Secondary, Dininkosi Junior Secondary, Vulingcobo Junior Secondary and Mqanduli Junior Secondary in the Eastern Cape. In addition, Dlukulwana Primary in Nkampini in KwaZulu-Natal also received new ablution facilities.
Mpumalanga
A new project underway, being implemented by Gift of the Givers, will result in the refurbishment of toilets at six schools in the Dipaleseng Local Municipality in Mpumalanga. The beneficiaries are Isifisosethu Secondary School, Laerskool Grootvlei, Siyathemba Primary School, Mlamlamkunzi Primary School, Tshepeha Combined School, as well as Nthoroane Secondary School in Balfour. This project is being supported by a R3.5 million donation from the Sibanye-Stillwater Foundation.
The scope of the work includes drilling boreholes, installing water reticulation systems, setting up JoJo tanks and refurbishment of toilets. This project will be completed by the end of the year.
Free State
As part of the Group’s strategy of improving the lives of employees and local communities it delivered a water reticulation system including flushing toilets for 416 households in Masilonyana in the Free State.
To address the broader sanitation challenges and enable municipalities, Sibanye-Stillwater has assisted in other sanitation projects. This includes a honey sucker truck to remove waste from pit latrines to the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality in Limpopo. Local clinics and rural communities, including the Hwelereng area, will benefit from the honey sucker truck which will assist in improving sanitation services. They donated two bucket winch machines to the office of the Municipal Manager in Rand West Local Municipality in late 2023 to efficiently clean and unblock sewer pipes in Rand West communities.
Sibanye-Stillwater's socio-economic development initiatives aim to improve living conditions and uplift communities by providing dignified facilities that facilitate learners’ attendance at school and thereby their education. Our contributions help direct dignity development benefits to communities, facilitating environments for sustainable community benefits. DM