Literacy project paves the way to a better future for children

Literacy is of vital importance as reading opens up the world to a person.

And as the children file into the hall at Sunnyridge Primary School, they are excited to learn and broaden their horizons with The Link.

The Link strives to assist Grade Two and Three learners to better their reading skills.

The non-profit organisation supports the development of literacy and numeracy in children for whom English is a second language, and who attend low-income schools in Johannesburg.

It was founded in 2010 by Margi Bashall, a teacher, who was inspired by The Shine Centre.

The Link is managed and staffed by volunteers from the community who are committed to making a difference in education, and who enjoy working with children.

Volunteers do not need to have any teaching experience, but they are required to be fluent in English as this is a second or third language for many of the children they assist.

They will undergo a three-hour formal training programme, and can also come and sit with qualified volunteers to learn.

The Link is recognised by the Gauteng educational authorities, and has permission to operate during school hours and work with children in Grades Two and Three who are identified by valid testing to be at risk of not achieving their potential.

Teachers, at all the organisation’s partner schools, are supportive of the efforts and are consulted regularly.

The GCN visited Sunnyridge Primary School, which is one of the 18 schools where The Link operates, on Wednesday, to see how the programme works.

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Catherine Lee, The Link centre manager at Sunnyridge Primary School, said, “We do an assessment of identified learners at the beginning of the year and we see where they need assistance.

“The project is non-discriminatory, and open to all learners.”

At the moment the Sunnyridge centre is helping 28 children, but with more volunteers more children can be helped.

The centre has 25 volunteers, and members of the community are invited to get involved and become volunteers.

After the children are assessed, the volunteer will start the programme with them.

“If they score below 50 we start with phonetic cards,” said Catherine.

“We do blocks of six letters at a time and teach them to blend words through word games.

“The games, like word searches and dice games, keep them excited about learning.

“All the games emphasise the sounds and what words you can make from the letters.”

A normal session with a child who scores below 50 will involve half-an-hour of phonetics and 15 minutes of reading to them.

When their skills start to increase, the child will read to the volunteer for 15 minutes during the session, they will have 15 minutes of word games and the volunteer will read to them for 15 minutes.

The sessions are conducted one-on-one with each learner, and a volunteer will assist two learners per day in the two sessions of 45 minutes duration each.

The literacy programme operates on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, between 8.45am and 11.15am, in the school hall at Sunnyridge Primary.

“It is extremely rewarding for the volunteers to see the huge results achieved at the end of the year,” Catherine said.

To become a volunteer, or to find out more about the programme, contact Catherine on 082 227 0035.

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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za.

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