Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it best when he said, “Do your little bit of good where you are, it’s those bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

This pearl of wisdom shared by retired Anglican Bishop, internationally-respected social activist, advocate of world-peace and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1984), Desmond Tutu, so fittingly captures one of the Core Values underpinning Lorge’s organisational Vision. And that is ensuring that while we pioneer our industry and grow our market influence in Southern Africa, to always remember to elevate those around us. We don’t believe in procrastinating; neither in our BMS or BI projects, nor when it comes to doing “good”. We also know that is futile to wait for the perfect ‘climate’ to perform an act of charity or a worthy Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. That day may never come and there are pressing social needs in the here and now. It is important to act and play our part as even a seemingly tiny gesture can make a world of difference in someone’s life.

This is precisely why Lorge Consulting Services and its management count it honour and privilege to have reached out to the New Hope School (Est. 1971), by making an incredible donation of learning material to the specialised school. The multi-cultural school situated in Ashlea Gardens, Pretoria, is a pillar of strength to the local community and a sterling example to schools, NGOs and NPOs countrywide.

As medication is intended for the sick, so too are the academically challenged or those ailing in their learning-abilities deserving of special care. New Hope School lives up to this ideal and recognises that children with cerebral palsy, dyslexia, learning and other disabilities - while requiring tremendous patience and care - are equally valuable to society and deserve quality education.

What is outstanding about the school is the fact that it is established on main stream curricula and caters to a broad-spectrum of learners from age three (Pre-Primary) all the way to grade twelve (FET). Students are also accommodated to in terms of vocational and life skill phases. The learner-centric institute delivers comprehensive bi-lingual (English & Afrikaans) teaching by a highly dedicated team of 70 educators and qualified therapists who presently care for 415 learners. This hard-working team synergistically provides education in conjunction with learner-specific therapy for optimum learning outcomes. The team continues to show great determination in pushing against learning and reading barriers often considered impenetrable.

Why Sponsor New Hope School Books?

As a multi-award winning organisation, a Sage accredited provider for the past 21 years and one of the preferred suppliers of choice in South Africa for an expanding client-base in a host of industries, we believe in playing our part. We therefore hold dearly to various worthy causes, and while we embrace all social needs, as good stewards of allotted resources we are specific about investing in the most meaningful outreaches and in programmes where the needs are most dire.

Investing in “education as a pillar” unlocking the potential of our nation’s youth and the future of tomorrow, while helping children with learning and other disabilities, has made New Hope School fertile ground. By planting a wide array of fiction and non-fiction books, to the value of R 35,000 we consider it an outreach initiative that will continue to yield fruit for years to come and multiple learner generations.

The memorable handover took place on Friday the 29 July 2016 when Alex McDonald of Quali Books delivered the official presentation to the large group of ecstatic learners, during the weekly assembly. New Hope School facilitators were most excited about the availability of book resources in that they serve as invaluable aids in the learning process that goes with effectively teaching special-needs learners.

The Principal, Mrs Hannie Muller, on behalf of New Hope School and its learners, expressed what a contribution of this nature means to their establishment, with its growing needs each and every year. “Donations like this mean the world to our learners - in wheelchairs, physically disabled and multi-disabled learners – including those with learning disabilities like dyslexia, different syndromes, ADHD and so on. If you take into consideration that they follow a mainstream curriculum, notwithstanding all the learning barriers that they need to overcome in order to pass, we can only say that we are very proud of them.”

In closing, we feel tremendously fulfilled as an organisation to help an incredibly dedicated group of facilitators at New Hope School to be better resourced and supported for their crucial day-to-day activities. We were also humbled by the kind words of Mrs Muller in thanking Lorge for this donation: “A company like Lorge Consulting Services helps us to help our learners build a positive self esteem, believe in themselves, dream again and be part of a bright future in South Africa! We are really thankful to companies like these that help our children, because every child is important even those who had to overcome so many barriers in life!”

We wish New Hope School and all its learners well as the academic year tapers off. “Happy Reading” and here’s to many learners successfully completing their schooling and becoming productive members of society.