Leading South African Educator Pays Central Florida a Visit

One of South Africa’s leading educators recently paid a special visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge to share her inspirational story of perseverance and express gratitude for the ongoing support of several Central Floridians.

Eleven years ago, Nomusa Zikhali established the internationally-renowned Nkomo Primary School in rural South Africa with 60 children (ranging in age from five to 18) sitting beneath four trees. With nurturing over the years, the school grew beyond its humble beginnings into a campus of several buildings and classrooms serving more than 800 students. At least half of these children have lost their parents from HIV/AIDS and rely on the school for support.

Zikhali attributes part of the school’s success to the kindness and generosity of Disney and several Central Florida students and teachers. During the summer of 2009, Disney VoluntEARS traveled to South Africa along with several teachers from Palm Lake Elementary School to help with school improvement projects , curriculum enhancements and a hot meal program funded by  the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

Contributions from Palm Lake also included books, school uniforms, shoes and enough funding to build a water collection system to provide fresh water directly to the school. Prior to that improvement, students were required to walk several miles to haul water from the nearest river. As a result of the group’s hard work, Nkomo Primary School was recognized last year by the South Africa National Board of Education as the most beautiful school in the province.

During her Central Florida trip, Zikhali was pleasantly surprised with a $10,000 donation from Walt Disney World Resort to continue her school’s progress. The South African teacher hopes to use the money for two additional classrooms.

“The generosity of Palm Lake and Disney means the world to me and my student learners,” Zikhali said. “Our classrooms are so full; we are running out of room. This donation means our school can grow, hire more teachers and continue to provide for children that deserve the opportunity to learn.”

As part of her two-week visit, Zikhali also spent some time with students and teachers from Palm Lake Elementary School, volunteered at Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and accompanied Disney’s animal care experts who visited children at the Florida Hospital for Children.

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