Tag Archive for: Education

Sihle Mooi

Sparrow School Partnership

For some of our orphaned and vulnerable children in Alexandra school is a daily battle. Due to the trauma and lack of parenting/support they have suffered, many of them have missed out on the foundation of education. They spend a huge amount of energy trying to hide the fact that they don’t understand, not wanting to be embarrassed or shamed. Consequently, they continue to fail year after year but eventually get pushed up to the next grade without ever learning the basics. Over the last year through our observations and one-on-one work with children at homework club, as well as input from teachers and school reports, we have been identifying children who desperately need additional help.

An example is a child who was orphaned earlier this year and came onto the Rays of Hope CHH (Child-Headed Households) program a few months ago. We had begun to notice that she was very behind in understanding simple numbers and letter recognition even though she is in grade 4. On one occasion she came to homework club distressed that she couldn’t do her maths homework and worried because she would get in trouble. As we sat with her and looked at the work we realised she was being asked to do complicated multiplication and division worded in a paragraph type question; we sadly knew however, that this particular child had not even grasped the concept of adding single digit numbers or recognising the alphabet. It is heart-breaking to see a child in such a state and knowing that in an hour at homework club each day, we cannot possibly bridge the gap. The students are in class sizes of up to 75 children so the teachers at school have no time or availability to focus on an individual who is falling behind.

Enter Sparrow Foundation School in Melville who work on the basis that there is ‘space for every pace’, not giving up on those who have fallen behind in other settings. In August and September were able to have 10 of our orphaned children assessed. We were initially discouraged because three of the children were found to be so far behind that they were two grades below the lowest special needs learners of their age. Praise God for this amazing school and their director Jackie Gallagher’s commitment to wanting to accommodate these learners. The school decided to open a special class specifically for these three children which would take them back and instil the foundations they have missed. The other seven children were accepted into the remedial and special needs stream, with regular assessment so that if they reach a point of catching up they can go back into mainstream education.

On 10th October, the ten children arrived at Sparrow with their guardians who were provided with a tour of the school. Sparrow kindly gave the children second hand uniform so they really looked the part. It was so wonderful watching their faces grow more confident as they proudly put on their new jerseys. Today marks the beginning of 10 new journeys where the children will be able to access individualised educational support, speech and occupational therapy as well as counselling to address the emotional trauma they have each been through. With big smiles on their faces the children’s accounts of their first day ranged from an enthusiastic ‘GREAT!’ to ‘the teachers at Sparrow are nice and caring and give us the attention we need’.

We are so grateful to Sparrow school for accommodating our children, we wholeheartedly thank our donors who have generously funded the school fees for the remainder of 2016 and 2017. Most importantly, we give all glory to God who does not let even a sparrow fall to the ground without his consent and consistently shows us that he has numbered the hairs on our precious children’s heads and cares for each one immeasurably.

Note

Many thanks to all the people involved through Rays of Hope and the Child-Headed Households project and for the generous donors for their labour of love in Alexandra. It is inspiring to see our members sent out to be a Redemptive Influence in our city!

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Leigh Robinson

Fees Must What?

The chaos on many of our university campuses in response to the announcement by the Minister that tertiary education will not be free next year, and that instead there will be increases of no more that 8% as determined by each institution, has sent shock waves around the country and ripples around the world. It is tragic to witness the orchestrated disruption of classes and destruction of property by raging mobs led by irrational and influential activists. It is sad to see proper channels of communication ignored and the democratic right of peaceful protest bypassed in favour of knee-jerk disruption and violence. At a time when our economy is struggling and everyone except the very rich are feeling the pinch, it is depressing to calculate the waste of money on extra policing and the restoration and replacing of damaged and destroyed property.

But more than that, it is what the current state of affairs reveals about the heart and soul of the nation that is most disturbing. The lack of consideration for fellow students and faculty and the lack of respect for the rule of law and those in authority points to an inner disease that, should it continue to spread, makes the future even more frightening. No society can survive if the laws of the land are trampled underfoot and democratically appointed leaders, no matter how flawed some of them may be as individuals, are not obeyed. Romans 13:1-7 makes this abundantly clear.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.

This does not mean that we must blindly submit to authority. We should raise our voices against injustice perpetrated by those in authority. We should foster robust debate on issues that affect all segments of society. We should engage in peaceful protest. We should cry out against corruption. We should speak for those who have no voice. But wanton disruption and destruction is not the Christian pathway. Besides that, it is shortsighted and foolish since the money that will be required to repair the damage could be better utilized, and the time wasted can never be recaptured and spent profitably.

Having said that, in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor is the widest in the world, it is fitting that those responsible for setting of university fees find ways to make education available to worthy students who are poor and who simply cannot afford higher education. Heaven alone knows how much talent in our country has been wasted in the past because of unjust laws and raw poverty. We simply cannot allow this to continue. The State must do its part. Businesses and individuals must play a part. And the church must come to the party.

The IGNITION programme that is part of Rosebank Union Church’s Rays of Hope ministry is one small way we are seeking to finance and mentor underprivileged students who show promise and are committed to applying themselves to their studies. We have already seen talented young people educated and equipped for success in life through this initiative (See www.raysofhope.co.za). We would like to grow the programme, and challenge our members to give sacrificially so that we can go from our current number of 11 to the dream of 30. And we challenge other churches to adopt at least one poor student.

Although the focus of the current crisis is university fees, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is symptomatic of the wider problem of extreme poverty, gross inequality, and rumbling desperation in our country. While Scripture is clear on the need for citizens to respect those in authority in the land, it is equally clear on the responsibility all people, especially Christians, have to love and care for the poor and to do what they can to alleviate poverty. Living in luxury while the poor lie at our gates uncared for is simply not biblically acceptable (see Luke 16:19-31).

Despite the problems, this is not a time to despair. We have a great country, and hundreds of thousands of young people hungry for education and wanting to play their part in making our country even greater, so let’s pray for God’s mercy in the current crisis. Let’s pray that those in authority in this matter will be granted wisdom as they seek the best way forward. And let’s do what we can to make a difference.

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