TEACH South Africa partners to roll out an OVC programme in Ekurhuleni South

The Old Mutual Foundation, Heartbeat, the Department of Education and TEACH South Africa have formed a partnership to support Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in schools in Ekurhuleni South, Gauteng.

Richard Masemola, founding member of TEACH South Africa, outlines the programme’s focus areas as: the delivery of afternoon classes; homework supervision (supervision and support in Maths, Science and English first and second language); holiday classes; nutrition (meals will be served to the learners after school); and psycho-social counseling and guidance. .

TEACH Ambassadors will work as tutors in the identified learning areas, while the school-based support team, comprising the principal, the school governing body and teachers, will draw up timetables and implement the programme in the schools.

“[Aside from] the mix of problems in our education system, the learning challenges of orphaned and vulnerable children are acute.

They lack the basic family support structures that are necessary to assist them [in] things as basic as homework supervision.

As a result, these children have a lower chance of completing basic and secondary education and ... transcending intergenerational poverty inheritance”, says Andile Ncontsa, Head of the Old Mutual Foundation.

He adds, “We are hoping that this intervention will not only assist in feeding and providing psycho-social support to this vulnerable group, but will assist in opening up opportunities to these children to realise their dreams through education.”

Somikazi Chabalala from the Ekurhuleni South Department of Education has added her support to the programme, which starts on August 3, and hopes to see its successful roll-out and implementation in schools across the district.

Masemola comments, “Donations in the form of food and light meals, for example soup, bread and tinned goods, are welcome and necessary to feed these children.

Some of them walk more than ten kilometres to get to school and the only meal they get is at lunchtime.

It is very hard to teach Maths or Science to a hungry child. So we need support from corporate South Africa in feeding these children.”

Heartbeat, who is responsible for programme delivery, is an NGO funded entirely by donors with the mission to empower orphans and vulnerable children, helping them to reach their full potential through quality service provision, development and capacity building.