Celebrating Success in an Extraordinary Year

Positive changes in the face of COVID-19

Whilst best described as 'business unusual' for us all, in KwaZulu-Natal KHULA Education has taken advantage of this extraordinary situation and opened the doors to learning to many more young people. We are so proud of all our pupils and staff this year who have adapted quickly to the ever-changing situation with good humour and resilience. In particular, we are celebrating our fantastic pupils in Grade 7 at Oscarsberg and Mampunga Schools and Grade 8 at Mampunga and Gadeleni Schools who have achieved results well above the Circuit, District and provincial average. The sky is the limit for these KHULA students!

Thanks to you, our generous supporters, the response to our Tablet Campaign and our on-going #FundourFuture Campaign has been fantastic. At a time when we are exploring new territory and moving our fundraising efforts online, you have given over £55,000 this year via our digital campaigns. This gives us security that we can carry on our work in this special part of South Africa.

We are delighted to announce that in January 2021, we will be taking on a new, local pre-school in Amoibe. This expansion will give an additional 40 three and four years olds the opportunity of a KHULA education and comes as a direct result of parental demand and your financial support.

We look forward to the new school year in January with hope and positivity.

Zanele is the Grade RRR (Nursery Year) teacher at Isisekelo Pre-School. She is also mother to Khulani, a bright three year old boy who was shy before he started at Isisekelo in January this year. Zanele says: 'Khulani has gained so much in self-confidence since starting school. Now he can freely stand in front of a class of learners and express himself. His social skills have improved as he plays with his friends with respect and discipline and his understanding of English is very good now.

'As his teacher, sometimes I get frustrated with him when he doesn’t pay attention in class, but as his mother, I am so proud when he tells me everything he has done at school that day. To be both a teacher and a parent at Isisekelo Pre-School is an honour. It is a safe, warm and nurturing environment where the teachers treat the pre-schoolers with love and care whilst giving them a quality education. I am able to see the importance of this from the perspectives of both a teacher and a mother and that makes it easier to keep fine-tuning our teaching to our precious learners.'

Help KHULA Education support more families like Zanele and Khulani by donating to #FundOurFuture.

Tech for Good

By working with a number of local and international partners, we have introduced and secured WiFI for 20 KHULA schools until the end of 2021. Not only has this given the local community a boost, we have embraced education through technology as over 6,000 students and 200 teaching staff have been able to continue their studies during the lockdown.

As our final year students approach their final school exams, we know that they have benefitted from this digital access as they are well prepared and on course to graduate. In a particularly difficult year, their success is even more poignant. The South African Department of Education has recognised our successes and 'can-do' attitude and we look forward to developing the KHULA Linked Schools model further.