By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!
Thank you for being a part of KTD196 and our success with the children. Your influence is moving mountains in the lives of the children we serve! You are making such a huge difference. Welcome to our new supporters and G'Day to those who have been on this journey with us for 10years through GlobalGiving.
You might wonder why I have attached a photo of the camp fun that we had last month and what that has to do with school exams? Let me explain.
Finally, we are seeing a return to relatively normal after the last two years of chaos and mayhem. I am happy to report that all the children have returned to school however the serious business of catching up and mitigating the loss of education during these last two years is necessary.
For those children who were in Pre reception, reception, and grade 1, the formative years we are finding many are struggling to gain back what has been lost. The children are graduating each year without having the fundamental skills necessary to cope with the new year's workload. Many children, because of wearing masks, are having serious pronunciation issues and are requiring speech therapy. We have noticed amongst the children there appears to be a general sense of being overwhelmed by school. No doubt a byproduct of the previous two years.
The older children, high school age, are now having to attend school 6days a week. Teachers teach the same material however it now stretched over 6days. The children are given time to be children, the focus is on exams, and the pressure is tremendous. The education system and the chief decision makers believe by cramming in the information that the children will pass. These kids have had 2yrs of basically no schooling. It's absurd to think, particularly in the rural areas, that without real support, the children will pass. The current pass mark is 30% and that was before covid.
The children experience so much pressure during this time because the fate of the family weighs on their success in their exams. Parents are fully aware that if a child gains a diploma or bachelor level entry mark then there are strong possibilities that their child will be the parent's retirement plan through black tax. Black tax is the expectations parents and grandparents place upon their children to financially support them. I have known parents to "retire" as soon as their child completes tertiary education, because of the expectation that the child will now financially support their parents for the rest of their lives.
Keep The Dream196 matriculation pass rate is a whopping 91% over 10yrs while the Limpopo Department of Education pass rate is only 64% for the same period of time. We make learning practical and fun, the older children tutor the younger ones. Failing at school creates such pressure that the teenage suicide rate is 12.9% nationally, in fact, I believe this number to be much higher and a majority of these suicides occur within the first week of exam results being released nationally.
So the camps that we run throughout the year, and the activities we do with the children assist them to learn, have fun, and focus on their self-esteem regardless of their final mark in their matriculation year. Those of our children that don't achieve their goals academically will often return to school and upgrade their marks so that they can then continue with their dreams rather than just sitting at home and wasting their lives like so many other children from the rural provinces.
None of this would be possible without your support! You have enabled us to survive as an organization through a very difficult time, not just survive but also continue to provide the necessary support to the children we serve. Thank you to you, for your encouragement, support, provision, and care. Thank you for sharing the vision we have for the children we serve. Thank you for helping us make a difference in these wonderful lives and to change the futures of so many children that would otherwise be lost and directionless. I hope you enjoy this report and are excited as we are by the achievements of the children
God bless you
Louise
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By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!
By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!
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