For years, Verulam Secondary School lived with a quiet, relentless crisis. It wasn’t chaos or conflict that disrupted learning. It was the simple absence of something every school should be able to depend on: reliable running water. 

The school is situated within the eThekwini region, where residents have experienced prolonged and severe water shortages over an extended period. While classrooms at this bustling KwaZulu-Natal school were lively, the bathrooms told another story: taps often ran dry and then toilets couldn’t flush. The school previously had running water, but ongoing water-outages made the supply unreliable, forcing it to rely on inconsistent deliveries from water tankers. Teachers improvised and learners adapted, doing their best to cope despite repeated water interruptions, but the strain was evident. 

“Our school would have no running water for several days at a time. Sporting activities were cancelled. Attendance was poor. We tried everything. We collected rainwater in JoJo tanks and asked teachers to bring 5-litre bottles from home.” 

- Mr Siva Govender, Verulam Secondary School principal

Shoprite became aware of Verulam Secondary School’s water challenges through its ongoing community engagement and CSI work in the area. The retailer had previously implemented education-focused interventions at schools in the region, including the installation of robotics laboratories. Because of the severity of the water disruptions and the impact it had on the learning experience, Shoprite could not ignore the ongoing challenge. 

The retailer facilitated the installation of a borehole at the school to provide sustainable relief. The disaster response organisation, Gift of the Givers, was approached to assist, given their experience in implementing similar water projects across the country. 

Towards the end of 2025, things finally changed, when Shoprite handed over a fully operational borehole system to Verulam Secondary. Water from the borehole undergoes reverse-osmosis filtration before feeding the school’s two dedicated drinking stations. The borehole also supplies water to the rest of the school’s water network, including bathrooms, the kitchen and cleaning facilities.  

For the first time in years, learners can fill their water bottles with confidence. Teachers no longer have to haul emergency water from home. Bathrooms are working again, making day-to-day school routines easier and safer. 

And most importantly, school can be about learning again, not survival.

“The school community was excited and relieved when the water finally started flowing from the taps. Thanks to Shoprite’s commitment to our community, school attendance improved almost immediately for both employees and learners.”

- Principal Siva Govender

Additionally, plastic waste has dropped dramatically, and the nutrition programme, which provides daily meals to learners, now runs without interruption. 

Verulam Secondary’s new borehole also serves the broader community, many of whom have faced long-term water shortages of their own. Parents and residents collect water through a designated access point at the school gates, supervised around the clock by security.  

“The project also brings financial and environmental benefits. Drastically lower water bills free up more of the school’s limited funding for textbooks, equipment and essential resources. Employees have been trained to maintain the borehole system,” Govender says. “This ensures it becomes not just a once-off donation, but the start of long-term self-sufficiency.” 

The school community’s efforts are showing results: Verulam Secondary attained a 99% pass rate in the 2025 NSC examinations, with one learner placing third in the province. 

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