In South Africa, over 66% of the population is under the age of 35. Sadly, young people aged 18 to 35 also make up the bulk of South Africa’s unemployed population. There are a number of reasons for this, but there’s one that we believe is particularly crippling – the poverty of opportunity.
We are often asked by parents and caregivers of primary school-going children, “How can I help my child learn to read?”. But learning to read really starts years before a child enters primary school.
In December, a group of UCT and Stellenbosch students cycled from Cape Town to Keurboom, near Plettenberg Bay, to raise funds for help2read. The group of 13 students cycled for 11 days during their varsity vacation, raising R25,000 for help2read.
Last year, we took a long, hard look at the state of illiteracy in South Africa. By now, you may be well aware of the statistics and their implications, but what you may not know is what is being done by initiatives and organisations that, like ourselves, are working every day to solve the literacy crisis.
When this learner started on the program her biggest challenge was that she was French speaking. The teacher put her on the program because she could not read or spell in English and was reading at a very low grade level.
Shehaam has been an active participant at the help2read programme at Strandfontein Primary for the past four years (that’s over 250 hours of volunteering!).
Registered SA Non-Profit 063-979 PBO 930027054 UK Charity Reg No. 1109567 Registered Office: Oak Farm Cottage, Mill Street, Gislingham, Suffolk, IP23 8JT
