“Learner by learner, school by school, community by community, we will improve maths results, resulting in an improved economy.” – MathMoms
Western Cape, South Africa (25 February 2022) – MathMoms is a women’s initiative powered by nurturing love that builds confident communities one maths empowered child at a time… and it has created a safe space where children come to learn maths and leave having learned much more.
MathMoms was started in Elsies River to test whether the concept would succeed. The idea was to give unemployed or stay-at-home moms a purpose in the afternoons while also helping children become more confident in mathematics. The area is known for its high crime rate, so having a safe space for the children is another perk to the project.
In 2017, after doing a full-scale report on the pilot project, the non-profit company found many outstanding and positive results.
“All the project participants interviewed were very positive about the project. The school staff, the Math Moms as well as the learners were all in agreement that the project made a difference in the lives of all involved.”
Five years later and the organisation has grown to new communities and now operate in Elsies River, Ravensmead, Bishop Lavis, and Rawsonville, reaching over 2,400 foundation phase learners through their various programmes.
The project aims to:
- up-skill unemployed adults (mothers) in the community
- train them in basic mathematics
- equip them as broadly as possible so that they can transmit mathematical and life skills to grade 2 and 3 learners
- give the average foundation phase school learner a solid basis in mathematics
- improve the self-esteem of participating unemployed women
- improve parental involvement in schools
- build healthier, cohesive communities
Their vision is to help improve maths results, resulting in an improved economy.
“We now also have an internship programme, where youth (18-25) have the opportunity to gain skills and experience, and we are implementing partners for the provincial government’s YearBeyond internship programme.
You know the impact the pandemic has had on the education sector and on people’s emotional lives. The support we provide to schools and communities, through our trauma-informed teaching approach, has had an invaluable impact.”
For more information about Math Moms, you can email Sonja at sonja@mathsmoms.co.za or visit their website here.
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