MAMAS Alliance is spearheading the love of reading and literacy in four far-flung South African communities.
South Africa (05 April 2023) – They may be situated in some of the most rural and under-resourced areas of South Africa, but that’s not stopping a network of NGOs from making sure that the youngsters under their watch rise above the country’s shocking child literacy statistics.
Four NGOs that fall under the umbrella of MAMAS Alliance – an NPO dedicated to proactive intervention in education and early support – are showing what is possible with focus, dedication and a holistic approach.
This is against the backdrop of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which found that 81% of South African grade 4 pupils were unable to read with understanding and placed South Africa at the bottom of the list of the 57 countries surveyed.
“The literacy programmes within the MAMAS Alliance NGO network have significantly reduced the percentage of Grade 4 learners who cannot read with understanding through focussed literacy initiatives that involve learners, educators, parents and their communities”. – Yumna Toefy, Managing Director of MAMAS Alliance
The NGOs are Thanda, which serves the rural community of Mtwalume on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast; Lesedi Educare, an accredited Early Childhood Development (ECD) resource and training organisation based in the Free State; Hantam, in Colesberg, Northern Cape and Inspire, which works in the Western Cape’s Swartland.
Founded by Angel Larkan and Tyler Howard, Thanda uses the catchphrase “ECD can change everything”. Its ECD Programmes for children ages 2-4 have literacy at the core by ensuring all the curriculum themes are based around storybooks, but also works with the children’s guardians to help them understand their critical role in their child’s development.
Thanda’s literacy facilities include a library at its community centre, and mobile library, which has created a love of reading – in 2012, the children borrowed 460 books; ten years later in 2022, they borrowed 12 414 books.
And the proof is in the pudding. In an external evaluation done at the end of 2022, 83% of the children were on track for starting grade R in terms of early literacy and language and they scored higher than their counterparts from similar fee-paying brackets.
In the Free State, NGO Lesedi works with young children and families in the province’s rural and urban communities as well as in the isolated village communities in Sterkspruit area of Eastern Cape, Aliwal North and the Southern Free State/Eastern Cape border area. A total of 19 000 children have had literacy education through the Lesedi programmes.
Kedibone Mosala, Managing Director of Lesedi Educare, believes the children who have been reached have a higher chance of reading with understanding by the time they are assessed in Grade 4 due to the fact that they are exposed to reading and libraries from an early age. She says parental involvement is key in improving literacy rates and that NGOs need to educate parents and show them how important it is to read to their children.
Hantam is based in the Northern Cape, in a rural area 50km east of Colesberg in the Upper Karoo. It serves 30 farms in a 50km radius and scholars from Colesberg town. For children at home wordless books are given to parents, who are often illiterate, to discuss and teach the basic concepts to the children. Project Director Mary-Anne Smith says there is a distinct difference between leaners who have come through the Basic Concepts Programme and those who haven’t in terms of their ability to read with understanding and their writing aptitude as well.
A dedicated librarian looks after roughly 10 000 books in their library, where all students have library periods and are taught the discipline of taking out and returning books.
Inspire is based on Middelpos farm in the Swartland municipality and serves farm children on Middelpos and surrounding farms in the area.
The literacy programme caters for children of six years to 18 years and 100 learners partake in their programme on an annual basis. Those children who participate daily have improved their basic reading and literacy skills.
Inspire’s Ingrid Lestrade says to improve children’s quality of reading parents, specifically mothers, need to be equipped to help with reading and literacy in the homes of the children.
“These four outstanding NGOs within the MAMAS Alliance show what kind of impact can be made if caregivers are brought into the fold and shown what an important role they can play in helping young learners develop a love for reading and learning,” says Toefy. “A lack of resources makes things harder, but with will and ingenuity it is possible to provide children with the opportunity to succeed.”
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