Vuma and iSchool Africa Kicked-off International Literacy Day in Soweto with Saray Khumalo
A recent Reading Panel study found that 78% of our country’s grade four children cannot read for meaning in any language. If these children’s literacy skills remain slow, inaccurate or unreliable, their learning will continue to suffer – and their future potential will be jeopardised.
To help bridge this literacy divide, Saray Khumalo, the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest and iSchoolAfrica, a South African education initiative are working together to bring digital libraries to schools across South Africa. To celebrate International Literacy Day, they hosted a digital literacy session for learners at one of the programme primary schools, Soweto, 8 September 2022.
Each of the programme’s schools receives a mobile lab of iPads, creativity apps, connectivity, numeracy and literacy software, teacher training and mentoring – all the main objective of giving our youth the basic skills needed to learn and succeed.
It was story time first, and the learners were totally engaged as Saray read them a story of how she summitted Everest – explaining to the learners that they can aim even above the sky. The learners enthusiastically repeated after Saray, “use the sky as our stepping stone . We are super heroes “
The learners then experienced an interactive world of literacy, using their iSchoolAfrica iPads.
“Today’s event demonstrated the opportunity for more South African learners to form part of a more literate and inclusive society. We’ve brought the best technology and classroom practices to empower, uplift and improve the lives and futures of these learners and ensure they don’t get left behind,” says Saray Khumalo.
“Every digital library we provide brings us a step closer to changing the education narrative and inspiring the next generation to reach beyond the limits of the sky,” she adds.
Saray Khumalo and the iSchoolAfrica digital library programme have partnered with Vuma to bring connectivity to disadvantaged schools, and create 21st-century learning environments for learners.
“Providing high-speed fibre access to these schools makes it possible for amazing initiatives like iSchoolAfrica to continue enriching the learning process in these under-resourced communities,” says Taylor Kwong, CSI Manager at Vuma. “Our youth have so much potential and giving these children access to the right resources and opportunities gives them a better chance of success in a knowledge-based economy.”
“We’re thrilled that our initiative continues to empower countless rural and township-based schools that lack the infrastructure and other essential resources to improve the literacy rate. Continuing to partner with organisations, school leaders, communities, teachers and learners will undoubtedly accelerate the rate at which we transform South Africa’s education system,” says Michelle Lissoos, Executive Director of iSchoolAfrica.
“Our school is so grateful to Saray Khumalo, iSchoolAfrica and Vuma for providing us with digital innovation that’s crucial in empowering our learners and developing their literacy skills,” says Sonto Tshabalala, Primary School principal. “We have seen a difference in all our learners and we can see how much they love learning now.”
If you would like to participate in the programme as a partner, please contact michelle@ischoolafrica.con.