Cape Town - A group of eight retired educators who want to change young people’s lives by assisting learners from various schools in Langa with free after-school classes have been hailed by parents.
The Masifundeni Educare programme has over 60 learners and was registered in 2019.
It provides assistance to pupils from Grade 2 to Grade 12, helping with homework and tutoring in all their subjects with a focus on Maths, Sciences and Languages.
Parent Nomalungisa Nqwala said the programme has assisted her child who is in Grade 5.
“We are very thankful for this programme. It helps a lot with Mathematics and now that we have the pandemic our children have a lot of homework and some of this homework we don’t understand. We are grateful they have a place to go for assistance. These after school classes have taken the load off us as parents and we are very thankful,” she said.
Bandile Bavuma, who has been a teacher for 35 years, said they concentrate the classes on homework and tutoring.
Bavuma said their main challenge was funding.
“In January 2019, when schools reopened, we started the programme at the Langa Library. Late in February 2019, we moved to the Reformed Presbyterian Church opposite the Langa clinic. We have been there ever since. We need a space of our own.
“We do voluntary work with no salary or stipend. Although I tell tutors this when they join us, they stay for a week/month and leave. Thus far, we have lost roughly 10 tutors, especially Maths tutors and this impacts the volume of learners that we have,” he said.
Ward 52 Councillor Samkelo John called for the community to support the initiative.
“The quality of education in some schools in Langa has dropped. So we really appreciate this initiative, and we love that they start tutoring at Grade 2 level when the children are still very young.
’’We are calling all businesses, even in the community, who can assist this programme with funding. We are proud of this initiative and we support it,” he said.
For more information on the programme or to assist, Bavuma can be contacted on 083 310 4371.
Cape Times