Not even illness can stop the quest to save his school
| If enough people are imbued with the same spirit in caring, we could change the whole landscape of how children are treated. |
We believe that every child deserves an education. But when your school becomes so overcrowded that you're forced to leave at the age of 14 what do you do?
For Charl du Plessis this is the case. He's come to Britain on a mission to raise £65,000 to build an extension for his school.
Charl, who comes from the township of Soweto in South Africa goes to Forest Town School near Johannesburg, which caters for children with special needs and disabilities. Charl suffers from Spina Bifida, a condition that affects the spine and damages the nervous system. He has two metal rods in his back to help him sit straight.
But his disability hasn't stopped him. He is more determined to raise cash for his school that has 400 pupils crammed into a space made for 180.
And we complain about the class sizes in England; we have it lucky in comparison don't you think?
Also in the UK we have to go to school until the age of 16 and of course we moan… but imagine not having that opportunity and being forced to leave school because it's so overcrowded! This happened to Charl and some of his friends.
"I'm in a new school now. The children are horrible, they treat me badly. They actually broke my wheelchair handles. I'm not happy so that's why I've come to the UK to raise money."
With so much going against him you'd think that his spirit would be broken. But no… Charl is bursting with energy, and we really enjoyed sitting and talking about him about his life in South Africa, his passion for football and his love of art. And at the end of the interview Charl, had again, used his talents and painted a great picture of himself. What a great inspiration. It was quite easy to see why he has been dubbed 'the ambassador for children with disabilities' and this is a role he takes seriously.
Charl could never be considered a person that does things by half measures - he is letting his voice speak with volume, he has spoken to the Commissioner for South Africa plus media personalities. And when he met the ex president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela was so impressed he said:
"If enough people are imbued with the same spirit in caring, we could change the whole landscape of how children are treated."
Impressive…eh?! Charl is not alone on his crusade; he is being accompanied by Marion Leatherbarrow (the founder of the Forest Town Foundation) who has traveled with him to the UK.
She feels that there is no other option but to raise money to improve the school.
"We cannot turn a child away, we get them into wheelchairs, we get equipment for them, get them walking, and up to their highest level of potential. We get ancient wheelchairs that we modify to suit the child. We use bicycles and make them into tricycles."
So the mission continues… Charl is taking up his challenge by working alongside the children's charity called missdorothy.com who have developed a virtual character of him called 'Bongani', and features on their virtual interactive site. Together they hope to raise the money needed to build an extension that will allow students to stay on to the age of 18, instead of 14, like the present system.
The creator of missdorothy.com, Sharon Doughty, sees Charl as an inspiration for children everywhere.
"I think that he is a role model for his school, he's got tremendous courage and the other kids are really inspired by him."
To raise funds a classical concert was held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. With so much backing and support and people wanting to support the cause it looks like Charl's dream of raising £65,000 could become a reality. If they do raise the money The Royal Signal White Helmets, a section of the British Army, will build the extension.
Charl continues with his positive vision: "I just hope everything goes well. It makes me feel wonderful knowing that I'm doing something for other people. The money would make my life, the school and the other kids circumstances better."
Meeting someone like Charl with so much get-up and go is inspiring of any child. It made us feel so lucky to have the right to education, and also make us aware of the circumstances of other children around the world. In our 'throw-away' society £65,000 may not seem like a lot of many but somewhere like South Africa that sort of money can make a BIG difference.
With Charl already having so much influence it wouldn't surprise us if we heard more about him in the history and development of the New South Africa… Step aside Thabo Mbeki, Charl du Plessis is on your path!
About the team
This article was produced by Annabel McLeod, 15, Akosua Bonsu, 15, Della Hicks-Wilson, 15. It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
