Call 2 Care - Choosing Conscious Collaborators to make Practical Change!
- raeesa023
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Last Thursday, together with Bellville South High School, our Call 2 Care team welcomed 200 JUMO employees from across the world to the school. For the second year in a row, JUMO came to us to help bring their global conference in South Africa to a close by answering the Call 2 Care in a meaningful and tangible way.
And what better way to show care than by empowering our youth through enhancing their schooling experience?
In many ways, the day reflected exactly what it means to choose conscious collaborators to make practical change.
Arriving in big buses and splitting into 7 teams across the grounds, the group spent the day working alongside our team, as well as the RCL of Bellville South High School, on a range of practical projects to neatly tie up their week.
The 7 teams were:
The mural painting team
The library revamp team (painting, cleaning, building shelves, setting up laptops)
The book team (repairing, sorting, categorising, cleaning, barcoding and scanning)
The hedge planting team
The tree planting team
The community herb garden team
The compost heap team
From the library to the grounds, to the walls and walkways leading up to to the library there was work happening in every direction. It was a big operation, with many moving parts and, at times, very small spaces, and it took a great deal of planning, generosity, and collective effort to bring it all together.
Some contributions were visible on the day, while others happened quietly behind the scenes long before anyone arrived at the school, but all of them helped make the day what it was.
One of the biggest focus areas was the library, which had been closed for 12 years.
Reopening it was no small task. A huge amount of work went into cleaning, repairing, sorting, categorising, shelving, and digitally capturing the books.
In total, 3500 books were processed and organised into 15 categories.
They were barcoded, scanned, and added to a functioning system so that the library can now be properly used and managed going forward.
Mr Myburgh, the school’s tech teacher, took on the enormous task of creating and managing the system.
Donated laptops were set up as part of the library management process, allowing books to be tracked as they move in and out.
The library space itself was also transformed; our team repainted, shelving was built and arranged, indoor plants were added, and a dedicated computer area was created. Our library task force took what had been a closed, dark, and unused room and made it look and feel lighter, calmer, and it is now ready to welcome learners back in.
The area leading up to the library was also completely changed; using a paint-by-number setup and eight colours, including some of JUMO’s colours, 47 delegates breathed new life into the walls, doors, and staircase.
A special shoutout goes to Minette Swartz, our artist behind the mural design, who came up with the concept and meticulously plotted it onto the walls so that the team could easily create a masterpiece built on her solid foundation.
And since none of us are professional artists, Minette will be doing a follow-up at the school to retouch and refine the work, in case we missed anything.
Outside, the remaining 4 teams focused on the garden and surrounding spaces.
One group, supported by Waste-ED, created five thermal compost heaps using garden waste from the school, as well as JUMO’s organic waste from the conference days before.
They also spent time workshopping and teaching the school’s garden team on how to care for the heaps and continue making compost in future; this will go a long way in supporting soil health and the long-term sustainability of the garden.
Alex and her team planted 20 fruit tree guilds, creating mini ecosystems where companion plants support the fruit trees; over time, these will grow into a small fruit forest, bringing fresh produce and added life into the garden.
Along the South East fence line, another group planted 80 indigenous hedge bushes; once grown, these will help protect the school from theft, reduce wind exposure, and create a better buffer from the busy road nearby. The hedges will also contribute to a greener, safer, and more beautiful learning space.
There was also work done in a broader garden area that supports both the school and the surrounding community. We planted some herbs and veggies, as this garden contributes to the school feeding scheme, and parts of the land are allocated to community members living nearby.
The work we managed to achieve there supports not only the learners, but food security in the wider area too.
Throughout the day, students from the school’s RCL (Representative Council of Learners) were right there alongside us and our teams, assisting and helping things run smoothly.
The involvement of the RCL added a lot to the day and made our collective effort feel even more grounded in the school community itself.
A lot had already gone into the project before the buses even arrived at the school; we were able to secure discounted books from Exclusive Books Cavendish Square, discounted trees from Cape Garden Centre, and support from the caterers too.
These behind-the-scenes contributions helped carry the day in ways people do not always see.
Work like this is never only about what happens on site on the day; it is held together by the planning, coordination, generosity, and practical support that happens beforehand.
Despite the heat, our volunteers stayed engaged and committed throughout. There were sprints; these came in the form of moments of focused work, moments of learning, and moments of fun.
And it would not be a Call 2 Care event if there was not some dancing! This time the backdrop was the compost site, with the team celebrating their newfound knowledge of composting and the fact that their work would be highly beneficial and appreciated.
Before we left for the day, Bellville South High School had a restored library, 3500 books back in circulation, a functioning library system, new fruit trees and herbs in the gardens, thermal compost heaps and a composting plan in place, hedges along the fence line, and a bright mural welcoming learners up the library stairs.
It took over 200 pairs of hands to get us there!
From our team coordinating behind the scenes, to the suppliers and partners who helped make resources more accessible, to the RCL learners, teachers, our artist, volunteers, and delegates on the ground, each contribution matters and not a single effort will go unfelt.
It was a full day, a meaningful one, and we can’t wait to welcome JUMO back again next year.
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