FOCUS • OUTREACH

OUTREACH – CHRISTIAN BROTHERS’ COLLEGE MOUNT EDMUND PRETORIA

In a world often marked by isolation and indifference, outreach teaches students that faith is lived through presence and action. It helps counter a culture of selfishness by forming young people who understand that love must be active and sacrificial.

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS’ College Mount Edmund in Pretoria, South Africa is a Catholic School based on the charism of its founder, Edmund Ignatius Rice, which is fundamentally about responding to Christ in the poor, particularly through liberating education, rooted in a trust in God’s providence and a deep sense of Gospel values, aimed at awakening the dignity of the poor as children of God. Edmund was a wealthy businessman who was touched by the suffering of poor children in Waterford, Ireland. He sold his assets and opened a free school in a stable, becoming a “father and mother to the poor” by offering education and basic needs like food and clothing. Edmund believed in Gospel -centred action, living out faith through compassion and service, seeing education as a key to uplift the poor. CBC Mount Edmund emphasises service, justice, compassion, and solidarity with the poor as part of its mission, and incorporates them in its outreach.

Outreach and Charity

Outreach is essential because the Gospel calls us to a way of life, not just occasional generosity. Jesus walked with the poor, healed the sick, and welcomed the outcast. While charity and outreach are closely linked, charity responds to immediate needs such as feeding the hungry or donating clothing. These acts reflect Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”, and nurture generosity and compassion. By serving through relationship rather than distance, students help build caring communities grounded in human dignity and respect for life.

Faith in Action

Mount Edmund believes outreach goes beyond giving material assistance; it is about building relationships, being present, and addressing deeper needs. Rooted in Gospel values and the Edmund Rice charism, outreach encourages students to put their faith into action through service, responsibility, and solidarity with others. While charity meets immediate needs, outreach reflects the heart of the Gospel more deeply by walking with people, restoring dignity, and witnessing Christ’s love.

Outreach is relational. It involves listening, understanding, and standing alongside others as equals, recognising the dignity of every person as a child of God. In this process, those who serve are also transformed. As Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Outreach invites students to offer that love personally and sincerely.

In a Catholic school, outreach forms the whole person. Through meaningful service experiences, students grow in empathy, humility, and faith. They learn that service is not about fixing others or feeling superior, but about recognising Christ in every person they meet. Outreach nurtures Gospel values such as compassion, justice, patience, and respect, and helps students appreciate Catholic Social Teaching, especially human dignity and the call to solidarity. Spiritually, outreach bridges the gap between classroom learning and lived faith, helping students make the Gospel personal, active, and lasting.

Call to Serve

Service is one of the most powerful forms of evangelisation. When students serve with humility and love, they witness the Gospel through their actions. As Mother Teresa said, “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” Simple acts of kindness become powerful expressions of Christ’s love.

Outreach has long been central to student formation at Mount Edmund. With the guidance of a social worker, learners visited communities in Moloto and Hammanskraal to distribute food parcels and blankets. Strong parish partnerships are vital to this work. Students have joined Christ the King Parish in Queenwood at their soup kitchen, offering food and companionship to those in need. The school also works closely with St Augustine’s Parish in Silverton, where Fr Antony, a Comboni Missionary and school chaplain, supports outreach to the homeless and poor.

Within the safe parish environment, even younger children have helped prepare and distribute food parcels and blankets. These experiences foster empathy, compassion, and a deeper understanding of human dignity.

Collaboration with Holy Cross Sisters

Mount Edmund partnered with the Holy Cross Sisters in Soshanguve to support the education of vulnerable children, in keeping with Edmund Rice’s mission to serve the poor. What began as assistance for children living near the Plastic View rubbish dump grew into Emmanuel School of Hope, a fully resourced early childhood development centre. With land secured and support from alumni, staff, parents, and the “Us for You” Foundation, the project developed from a tin shack into a well-equipped school with prefabricated classrooms. Mount Edmund learners regularly visited the centre, collected food for families to sustain them during holidays, and hosted the children on campus, building meaningful relationships and sharing in a sense of dignity and hope.

Beneficiaries of our Outreach

Mount Edmund recognises the importance of supporting under-resourced schools by improving infrastructure and creating sustainable learning environments. One way the school has done this is by assisting with the renovation of school kitchens and the installation of gas stoves, ensuring that children can continue to receive nutritious meals in a safe environment. These improvements help sustain feeding schemes that are essential to learners’ wellbeing and ability to learn. In addition, an early childhood development (ECD) school in Mamelodi benefited from the donation of a water tank, ensuring that learning is not disrupted during frequent water cuts in the area. Through the support of the Edmund Rice Foundation, Mount Edmund is also able to assist various communities financially. The Toy Library in Mamelodi is one such organisation that has benefited, helping to provide educational resources for young children.

For over 40 years, Mount Edmund has maintained a strong relationship with the Holy Cross Home for the elderly, many of whom have little or no family support. Learners regularly visit the home, offering their time, donating toiletries, and sharing choir and musical performances. These visits are deeply meaningful, as children enjoy listening to the life stories of the elderly and forming genuine connections across generations.

The school is also closely associated with the Lodewyk Spies Old Age Home in Eersterust. Visits to this home are always warmly welcomed. Witnessing a child feed a blind resident a chocolate or help a sick person drink juice is a deeply moving experience. Many learners are visibly touched, especially when interacting with bed-ridden residents, developing empathy, compassion, and respect for human dignity.

CBC Mount Edmund is further involved in the “Clothes to Good” programme, which recycles donated clothing to alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities, particularly for women and people with disabilities. This initiative also promotes environmental responsibility through textile recycling. Through the “Clothes to Trees” option, families who donate clothing receive a spekboom to plant, contributing positively to the environment as a natural carbon sink. Each year, the school celebrates this initiative with creative displays using the green donation bags, symbolising milestones and the enduring spirit of Edmund Rice.

Clothes to Toys

This year we chose to do the “Clothes to Toys” option, the 123ECD programme. This programme produces affordable, high quality, educational resources stimulating intellectual and physical development in children, including those living with disabilities, made by an integrated team of able-bodied people and people with disabilities. Our children had a lot of fun participating in a toy making workshop and helped make educational toys for ECD schools in under- resourced township schools.

Support for the Community

CBC Mount Edmund encourages children to engage with various communities throughout their school career. Whether it’s supporting CHOC’s Slipper Day (childhood cancer), gardening and painting at the Pretoria school for Cerebral Palsy or participating in the Catholic School “Leave your Print” campaign, every activity creates awareness of those in need.

Refocus Intention

In 2025 we tried to implement an even more comprehensive plan. Each grade has a specific focus, which allows children to enjoy a variety of experiences throughout their schooling. Some students visited orphanages and places of safety, others visited the elderly. Some paid visits to the differently abled with Downs Syndrome, while others donated food and blankets to animal shelters like SPCA and Wollies, where they were taught how to care for God’s small creatures too. The Edmund Rice Society made sleeping bags for the homeless. The senior grades at the school donated blood to SANBS and joined hands in caring for the environment by planting trees and holding anti-litter campaigns. For Mandela Day we donated books to an under- resourced Catholic school to equip its library.

When students serve with humility and love, they proclaim the Gospel without words.

Education for Life

Outreach at CBC Mount Edmund forms learners holistically—academically, emotionally, socially, morally, and spiritually. It instils life skills, gratitude, and humility, while shaping compassionate, responsible citizens committed to the common good. Through outreach, students learn that living the Gospel means loving others through action, relationship, and service. Schools that prioritise outreach help form future citizens who are committed to the common good and willing to engage with the world’s challenges with compassion and courage.