Merrifield Outreach is aimed at giving students the platform and opportunity to reach out into their communities around them. By helping others, students learn empathy and that what they do, no matter how small, matters.
In 2022, Merrifield partnered with Sakhikamva, a school in Nompumelelo, where we offer support to matric students every afternoon. Here we focus on Geography, Life Sciences and Maths. Students from Merrifield, as well as staff, give up their afternoons to give additional support and encouragement to the learners from Sakhikamva. Merrifield has also made their other facilities available to these students where students from both Merrifield and Sakhikamva , have enjoyed friendly soccer matches, marimba lessons etc.
Adhoc Outreach initiatives, such as the CANSA Sprayathon, Slipper Day for Choc and civvies days for Reach for a Dream, help raise much needed funds for these worthy organisations.
Mandela Day on 18 July, is something Merrifield has always been very involved with. In 2022, both prep and college students collected over 1000 books that were distributed to nearby schools.
To celebrate Mandela Day, POP in the college has partnered with African Angels in Chintsa East to highlight the need for dignity around the monthly cycles of high school students, encouraging students to donate period packs that empower girl students to continue attending school.
Merrifield has also donated stationery to the East London Child and Youth Care Centre in Summit Road as part of a Mandela Day “drive and donate”, aligning with former president Nelson Mandela’s high value he placed on the power of Education to change the world.
When South Africa, particularly Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal, experienced unprecedented unrest in July 2021 – resulting in food shortages, Merrifield donated basic foodstuffs to contribute to a broader food drive that was transported to affected areas.
Merrifield will continue Outreach projects, both formal and ad hoc, indefinitely as these initiatives underpin the school’s philosophy of educating the whole child
