In the shadow of South Africa’s world-famous wildlife parks lies a place where a very different kind of future is being built. At Govern Psy School, every day is a fight against the odds. Here, 48 children sit at their desks with dreams far larger than the walls of their classroom.
In Mpumalanga, education is the only path out of the cycle of poverty, but that path is full of obstacles. Imagine a classroom where the sun beats through the roof, where there is no running water to wash your hands, and where the teacher has to use her own mobile phone as a ‘textbook’ because the children simply have nothing to read from.
This is the daily reality at the school we have taken into our hearts.
We believe every child deserves a ‘fair start.’ That’s why we aren’t just spectators—we are builders.
Laying the Foundations: From organizing cabinets for administration to the nerve-wracking search for water at 60 meters deep.
Tools for Learning: We raise targeted funds for books and writing materials, so a child doesn’t just hear about the world but can discover it on paper.
Dignity: We are working on sanitation and hygiene, ensuring the school is a safe and healthy environment.
People often ask us: “Why there? Why this school?” The answer is found in the eyes of the children when they hold their own pen for the first time, or when the water pump finally begins to hum.
We do this because we refuse to accept that talent is lost due to a lack of resources. We do this because, living in Mallorca and Germany, we see how much our own children have, and we want to share that abundance. But above all, we do this because the community in Mpumalanga has adopted us as family.
The ‘s’ in Happy Feet(s) stands for Support. Together with our donors, we form the backbone of this school. We don’t give them a hand-out; we give them a hand-up.
