The learning revolution GAUTENG – Find out how Learning Alive is improving education in South Africa, one lesson at a time.

Imagine that you were preparing a meal for your family. You find a great recipe, go out and buy all the freshest ingredients that you will need and go home to get busy in the kitchen. Then you realise that the pot that you are trying to cook in has a giant hole in its bottom and is leaking.

This is how Ann-Marie Olufuwa, programme manager for the Learning Alive non-governmental organisation (NGO), explains what she and her organisation are trying to do for the youth of South Africa.

“The leaky pot is a metaphor for the mind of a child who is just being taught the facts,” Olufuwa explained. “In order for education to be effective, we have to nurture a growing mind, as well as teach it the facts.”
Learning Alive aims to foster this support for underprivileged schoolchildren with supplementary education lessons which take place outside of mainstream school hours. These courses are linked to the mainstream curriculum, so that it is still relevant academically, but hopes to have a bigger impact on the individual.

The children from Moputa Secondary School begin each Learning Alive lesson with an interactive game like charades.

The NGO offers classes to children who most need support across Gauteng, including Saturday classes in Soweto, Midrand and Cosmo City and after-school classes in the Diepsloot area since 2011.

Since April, Learning Alive has been hosting after-school lessons as part of the English Access Microscholarship Programme at Moputa Secondary School in Midrand.

There are 22 children in each of the classes that Learning Alive run at Moputa Secondary School in Midrand, one for Grade 9s (pictured) and one for Grade 10s.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State and spanning 85 countries worldwide, this programme not only aims to help schoolchildren develop their English but also helps them grow holistically with emphasis on developing leadership skills, critical thinking and the practical use of the knowledge learned in the classroom.

“The American Embassy has provided the funding that allows us to provide 44 Grade 9 and Grade 10 children here [at Moputa Secondary School] with two-year Microscholarships [for these lessons],” explained Sanette van der Merwe, one of the Learning Alive teachers who works with the Moputa children twice a week after the official school day has ended.
She and her colleagues, including Reuben Makhosonke Xaba who also teaches the Moputa children, host their lessons twice a week, for two hours per lesson. “We try and start each lesson with a game,” Van der Merwe added. “In order to nurture teamwork and to help the kids learn more through play. Even though we haven’t [been teaching these children long], it’s amazing to watch how each child is developing, and growing more confident as we go along.”

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If you like the work that Learning Alive is doing and would like to support them, they are always looking for help! Donations of books, learning materials, food (as each child is provided with a meal during extra lessons) and classrooms for the lessons to take place in.

For more information, visit their website www.learningalive.co.za; 076 358 2634; info@learningalive.co.za