Happy feet through “walk a child to school”
- Wits University
With the combined efforts of staff and students, almost 600 pairs of school shoes were donated to children in need at Mid-Ennerdale Primary School.
Launched by the Wits Business School's Sustainability Committee in late 2024, the “Walk a Child to School” campaign started with just a trickle of donations, and it seemed that the initial target of 300 pairs of shoes was unrealistic. However, as word got out - especially among the MBA students at WBS - the drive gathered momentum and, by March 2025, the trickle had become a deluge, with boxes upon boxes of shoes filling up two offices at WBS.
The campaign culminated in a special “hand-over” event on 6 May 2025 at Mid-Ennerdale Primary School, south of Johannesburg, where selected children received their new shoes. The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), school principals, ward councillors and WBS representatives including Ms Gugu Sepamla, business leader and member of the WBS Advisory Board.
School choir performances and heartfelt words of thanks on the part of the beneficiary school and councillors set the tone for an unforgettable morning.
Small gestures go a long way
“For us at WBS it is all about impact. It is gratifying to see how small gestures can make a big difference to individual lives. Something as simple as a pair of decent school shoes can mean the difference between passing and failing, between hope and despair. I am so grateful to our Sustainability Committee for driving these school initiatives towards positive change,” says Prof. Maurice Radebe, Head and Director of WBS.
The WBS Sustainability Committee has impacted the lives of hundreds of schoolchildren in small - but tangible - ways since it was formed in May 2023. In its inaugural campaign, a Hygiene Drive, the committee organised the donation of hygiene items (sanitary towels, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste) to 650 learners at the George Moragula Secondary School in Limpopo in July 2023.
In 2024, the Committee organised, in partnership with the GDE, the donation of re-conditioned computer equipment and furniture, totalling 454 assets, to six primary school in the Kanana Park region, south of Johannesburg.
Next steps for the WBS team: the donation of the balance of school shoes collected along with more computer and furniture items in collaboration with sister school the Wits School of Governance, which will happen during the month of August.
“The Shoe Drive was our most successful campaign yet, uniting staff and students and exceeding all expectations. I am looking forward to seeing how this campaign can grow from strength to strength,” says Leoni Grobler, Chair of the WBS Sustainability Committee.
