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SCHOOL PROFILE OF ITHEMBELIHLE LSEN SCHOOL ESTABLISHMENT
Ithembelihle (Place of Good Hope) is an apt name of the school established in the initiative of teachers to cater for physical disabled learners during turmoil of the early 90's. These children have different types of physical disabilities like poliomyelitis, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, amputees, phocomelia, arthrogryposis etc. These children are being referred to our school by different professionals e.g. doctors, social workers, teachers and parents. Children are being assessed/evaluated both formally and informally. Depending on the outcome of the assessment a child is then admitted to the school.

Ithembelihle is an offshoot of a former J.C. Merkin School in Soweto, the school was registered under its current name in April 1998. It's a state aided school with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) paying subsidy. The Governing Body raised the balance of funds required to meet its strategic and business objectives. The school also depends on donations from people and companies to meet some of its needs.

Our school is a boarding school open to all races. We are situated in a tranquil environment that is conducive to teaching and learning of a high standard, despite the shortage of educational equipment and other resources. This is underlined by the ease with which our pupils are placed in secondary schools on passing Grade 7.

FACILITIES / STRUCTURE
Facilities include a school hall, an academic block with ten classrooms, an administration block, two computer science rooms, a workshop for woodwork, an Occupational therapist, Physiotherapist and Speech therapist sharing in a portioned room, a media centre including a fledging library, boarding facilities with eight dormitories, a dining-room, common room and ablution facilities, very limited sports facilities and sick bay with two rooms. Learners are enthusiastically responding to book education and a growing number are avidly using the library as window on the outside world.

MISSION
To help Ithembelihle Lsen School learners develop holistically, thus enabling them to become well-rounded members of society.

POPULATION
The school caters for multiracial group. Our learners are thus far an African speaking population as well as an Afrikaans speaking group. The school has no racial discrimination. There are 160 learners this year a number that grows every day because of a large group of disabled learners and for the fact that our school admits learners all year round.

STAFF
The school has the services of eleven educators, a Principal, a Deputy Principal, two HOD's, a Physiotherapist, an Occupational therapist, a Speech therapist, a Nurse, 3 Administrators, 5 Grounds-men and housemothers. In addition the boarding room section relies heavily on 20 housemothers, 2 work as class aid teacher. We also have 6 general assistants.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
We participate in the annual African Arts Festival in Johannesburg. Our school's Dance and Choral group have been invited to perform at a number of functions. As in sports, all children are encouraged to participate. Our children are selected to participate in the SA National Sports Championships that are held at different venues annually. At these events our children perform very well and in some few instances they break SA records

INTERGRATION
The essential objective of our school is to equip each learner with well rounded academic and physical education and Life Skill training of the highest quality, to ensure optimal development and utilization of all talents to enable them to integrate themselves into mainstream of society. Upon getting a sponsorship we plan to introduce specific career-orientated training for our senior learners as soon as possible and have already made a start in the workshop for woodwork, etc

FUNDING
The school has no major funding sources. However, SASOL and UPS funded the school for a specific project only that is the renovation of bathrooms and toilets. We also received some donation of different items from Kethea Communications, Marry & Roberts for sports and cultural activities: Padoan family who helped us with Televisions, radios and some appliances. MFC and Eastrand Children Trust have been involved with the school in purchasing computers and assistive devices, to mention but a few. The parents pay school (R500) and hostel fee (R2 500) for their children per annum. We only receive 20% of this amount from a few affording parents. Foster children are exempted from paying school fees and we have many of them. The Gauteng Department of Education subsidises the school and the weighting is R2 100 per capita per child per year.

PARENT PARTICIPATION
We are privileged to have an SGB (School Governing Body) that is remarkably dedicated, despite the fact that most of them are unemployed and are from disadvantaged communities.

CONTACT DETAILS
The school Principal Mrs. Leonor Ngozi can be contacted at:
Physical address: Postal address:
Erf 2586 P. O. Box 6004
Cnr Cypres & Elm Road Homestead
Primrose 1412
Tel (011) 828 8524/5618
Fax (011) 828 9142
E-mail: lihle@absamail.co.za NPO Number 041-695

Bank Details
Name: Ithembelihle School
P.O.B.: 6004
Homestead 1412
Bank: ABSA
Konto No: 4048417819
Branch: Germiston, Code 632005
Rep. of South Africa