PEDRO DE SILVA

Hall of tenacity

Pedro de Silva is not a person to give up on a vision. The principal of Eldocrest Primary School in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, De Silva could not get used to spending morning assembly watching his students freezing in the winter cold or being disturbed by rain in summer - and so started a project to raise the money to build an assembly hall.

It took 10 years, but De Silva managed to raise R700 000 from fashion shows, dances, cake sales - and from converted bins into which staff and students put their spare coppers whenever they could.

The department of education, recognising De Silva's efforts, offered the school the additional R300 000 they needed to build the hall.

The school now holds their assembly in the hall each morning - and uses it to raise funds for its next project by hiring it out for community social events.

De Silva's can-do attitude and caring strength reflect the essence of a true South African, whose achievements inspire us all to make a difference.