About Edu Fun: Our mission is to improve English literacy. We teach learners in grades 2&3 at Diepsloot Combined School in the informal settlement of Diepsloot, South Africa. We had to get creative in 2020 to adapt to Covid guidelines. At first the schools were closed which meant children missed out on what was sometimes their only meal of the day. So we set up mini education hubs and provided children and their families with food as well as literacy lessons in their local communities.
Diepsloot South Africa is home to between 200,000 and 500,000 people. Considered one of the most dangerous and crime ridden communities in South Africa, many residents live in shacks built from found materials without indoor plumbing or electricity. There are over 350 learners in grades 2 and 3 at the Diepsloot Combined School. A large percentage cannot read, spell or write. The teachers at the school cope with extremely large class sizes with as many as 70 learners per teacher.
Edu Fun's trained volunteers assess and group each learner by ability. We provide personalized support to assist with reading, reading comprehension, spelling and writing. We utilise the Phono-Graphix method, a straightforward reading and spelling method developed in America in 1993. Last year student reading skills improved by 60% and spelling skills by 73%. Teachers at the school are also trained in the Phono-Graphix method.
The world is a global economy and English literacy is essential for all. Students who can communicate in English and who possess strong reading and writing skills will have greater success in the future no matter the path they choose. They will be equipped to break the cycle of poverty.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
