Nqobile on how a KHULA preschool education has benefited her son.
5-year-old Mvelo comes from Rorke’s Drift, an area where jobs are so scarce that his mother Nqobile had to move to Durban, some five hours away, leaving him in the care of his grandmother while she works to support the family. Prior to KHULA establishing our first preschool in Rorke’s Drift in 2017, the area offered no early learning facilities whatsoever, leaving local children ill-prepared for the challenges of primary school.
When Mvelo turned three, Nqobile enrolled him at Rorke’s Drift Preschool, travelling home as often as she could to spend time with him.
At the end of 2022, she was proud to attend his graduation ceremony, and told us about what preschool has meant for Mvelo and the progress she has seen him make over the past two years:
“Mvelo loves school. He knows and understands the importance of going to school and he wants to go, even on Saturdays!"
"He used to be very shy and wouldn’t play with other children, but being at preschool has greatly developed his social skills. His favourite line is ‘sharing is caring’ - that for me is huge, because I know how he struggled with sharing anything with anyone before."
"His language skills are amazing - he is able to name and identify objects in English everywhere we go. I call him every day and he’ll tell me stories about what they learned at school."
“While they were busy preparing for their graduation, he asked me for a gift, and he was very specific that he wanted an educational toy. He explained, 'our teacher told us to not ask for toy guns, dolls and cars only, but to ask for toys that will help us learn."
"All I want is for my son to get the best quality education that I didn’t get. I’m proud of the decision I made to take him to preschool. They are not only taught academics, they have learned discipline and confidence. The teachers are doing a good job."
"Over and above every good thing, my son can understand and speak English. I’m very happy about that!"