Empower South African children with reading skills

At 8 years old, Lufefe attended the Shine Literacy Hour Programme at Observatory Junior School.

He loved the programme so much that one of his best and exciting childhood experiences is the time he spent at Shine Literacy Centre at the school.

He became a part of the centre because at the time he needed extra literacy and academic support.

“Before attending the Shine Literacy Centre, I was struggling with my school work. After having had started with the programme, there was a positive change, both academic [and personal],” said Lufefe 

“I was very shy at first but I had a lovely learning partner, Leigh Anne who was kind and patient with me. She helped me to come out of that shell,” he admitted.  

Now at 21 years old, Lufefe is a third-year Events Management student, at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. And has come back to share some of his time as a volunteer at the Zonnebloem Shine Literacy Centre.

“I was once a kid excited to attend the Shine Literacy centre. But now, I am one of the volunteers helping children read and write. And this is another [exciting] experience for me.”

“Interacting with the other volunteers is amazing!”

“I can see that they also enjoy what they do. And this motivates me to do as much as I can and to share some love with the children.”

Through volunteerism, Lufefe wishes to be a meaningful resource to children while playing a part in the improvement of educational outcomes.

“I wish that our country can take education more seriously as it is the most important tool we can use to [improve] our society,” Lufefe added.