Literacy and education put under the spotlight
STERKFONTEIN — Local schools join hands by uplifting disadvantaged communities.
Local organisation Ripple Reading recently notched second place at the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV – Afrikaans Language and Culture Association) competition.
Riana Robinson from the organisation in Lanseria said that they had to partner with two nearby schools for the competition, which included a number of schools as participants.
“Each school that participated had to come up with an idea or solution that would improve the lives or situations of people in disadvantaged communities,” she explained.
Robinson continued that the aim of the competition involved joining hands with disadvantaged communities and improving the quality of education in disadvantaged schools. “We had meetings with school principals to get the project running. We planted trees and also opened literacy centres.”
The organisation currently has three literacy centres around the Cradle and Lanseria areas and plans to grow with corporate support. There are many challenges associated with teaching literacy to poor children from disadvantaged communities, who do not speak English at home.
“Learning to read is not always as easy as parents and other adults may think. For the small minority, learning to read seems effortless, however, the majority of children in our areas struggle to learn and master this skill,” Robinson concluded.
