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Suprema protects children

Club 21 is a non-profit learning centre which specialises in the education and development of children with Down syndrome. Club 21’s heart is to focus on providing children with Down syndrome with a stimulating and loving educational environment where each individual can learn at his or her own pace.

The centre has a group of 32 students, aged between 2 and 17 years of age. The staff complement consists of an executive manager, a principal, five teachers, six teacher assistants, a sport manager, an administration clerk, a bookkeeper, a domestic worker and a gardener.

Children with Down syndrome have specific attributes and needs. One of their characteristics is that they often tend to wander off. They trust all people and will engage in conversations easily. This places a huge responsibility on the school to do everything in its ability to ensure that the children are protected and are safe at all times.

Club 21 approached Suprema for a solution, which in turn donated a BioLite Net to this worthy cause in an effort to curb the unauthorised entry of people onto the school property, who could ultimately threaten the safety of the children.

“The Suprema biometric access control system has brought a sense of safety and security to the staff and the parents. It grants us the opportunity to be in control of every person who enters or leaves the property. The fact that the office is connected via an intercom system to the person standing at the gate, gives us complete access control and a tremendous sense of peace,” says Izelle Els, executive manager of Club 21 Learning Centre NPO.

“Staff members often need to work after school hours or during the school holiday, which means that they are sometimes the only person on the school grounds. The management of Club 21 are extremely thankful to have the assurance that our teachers are safe at all times. We have had incidents of theft and harassment in the past which makes us extra vigilant.”

Club 21’s primary source of income is tuition paid by families who enrol their children in the programme. However, this tuition does not cover the costs of all these services provided by Club 21. To help fulfil their vision of providing these services to as many children as possible throughout all of South Africa, they rely on the help of donors.

“The donation given by Suprema allows the school to advance in ways we would not otherwise be able to. The biometric access control system that was sponsored and installed by Suprema, has a huge impact on Club 21. Thank you for becoming a friend of Club 21,” added Izelle.

“Suprema loves community involvement and what better way than doing it by doing what we do best, controlling access. It has been our privilege to be involved with such a good cause and we are always on the lookout for opportunities where contributions have an actual impact on protecting those that matter most,” says Walter Rautenbach from neaMetrics, Suprema Distribution Southern Africa.

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