Palapye Schoolchildren Get New Classrooms Through Donations from Debswana and Partners

The block at Ratsie Setlhako Primary School in Palapye contains two classrooms, a carpentry workshop, kitchen, toilets and sickbays.

Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Government of the Republic of Botswana, contributed P781,000 (US$74,700), with Morupule Coal Mine adding the rest.

The school, named after the legendary Botswana folk musician Ratsie Setlhako (who died in a car crash in 1976), caters for 557 pupils, including 35 with learning difficulties.

The project, completed late last year, began as a partnership between Debswana, Morupule Coal Mine, Morupule Cycling Club and Palapye Administrative Authority.

School Head Rebaone Maseba said: “The challenges that the school has been facing is that the classroom the pupils with learning difficulties have been using is congested and this posed challenges to the students’ needs and affected their studies. The new classroom block has greatly improved conditions.”

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to ‘Building Forever’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

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