Knowledge is Power

in May 2011 - Community Caring

In life, as a child, there are many memorable first-time experiences. The first – time you tie your shoelaces, your first school day and the overwhelming sense of accomplishment when you read and write your first sentence.  However with a 10 – 29% illiteracy rate, many South Africans have been unable to experience the joy of doing either. Parents, who can’t read or write in their own language, let alone English, struggle to educate their children.

Taking note of this problem, English Business - man Alex Moss when on holiday in South Africa recognised this need and in 2005 help2read was founded. The organisation’s aim is to extend a helping hand to the youth of South Africa struggling with language and literacy.

“We recruit and train volunteers and place them in primary schools in their area. Our trained volunteers aid in supporting six to twelve-year-old learners who have been identified by teachers as struggling with reading English and who could benefit from a dedicated reading helper,” explains Hanli van Aswegen the Admin/PR coordinator at help2read. Each reading session is a one-on-one experience; volunteers read books and play games with the children in order to increase the child’s confidence, self-esteem and vocabulary.

There are currently 440 volunteers providing support in 97 schools to over 1000 children. All volunteers are trained by help2read at their office in Rosebank, Cape Town, there is no charge and it’s a one-day training programme. Once trained, each volunteer selects a school where one of help2read’s members of staff meets and introduces the helper to the educator and the child. This registered NPO also provides all the necessities for the reading session. Each school receives a box (or one box to every five volunteers if a school has more volunteers) filled with a selection of books and games. The material is used during the reading sessions as help2read incorporates games into the learning process, “by taking teaching from the classroom and combining it with games, we get children interested in books; ultimately we want them to develop a love for reading, our volunteers don’t replace good teaching – they add to it,” says Hanli.

The volunteers at help2read receive no payment for their work, “we try to show our appreciation in other ways. We keep them informed with quarterly newsletters and present them with workshops that help to develop their skills further. Our part-time staff members are also primarily assigned to support the volunteers, and we try to maintain regular contact with each volunteer in order to support them and keep them motivated.”

However, as a NPO, help2read is dependent upon funding and donations to continue their good work. Apart from the annual cost of R1000 per child, there are also other expenses such as purchasing of books, games and the additional training cost.

“Funding enables us to recruit and train more volunteers, expand into additional schools and to provide teacher training and parent workshops”, Hanli explains, “but we also need more volunteers, people who are committed and enthusiastic about teaching and empowering the next generation.” Furthermore help2read would appreciate any donations of books or games. There are many people who own collections of books which they haven’t read or rarely read from – donate these books to help2read so children can share your love of stories.

“Every cent saved by not having to buy new books is an extra cent that can be spent helping children read,” says Hanli.

If you would like to join and support help2read in their cause to improve lives by sharing knowledge contact them on 021 685 8085.