Rally to Read 2020 Mpumalanga event – a huge success

Boasting excellent CSI and service delivery stats, Westvaal Numbi Ford and Westvaal Numbi Ford Hazyview were chosen by Ford SA to support the Mpumalanga leg of this national initiative.

It was also their second year of participation. The large group of Ford, media and other representatives were divided into five teams, each with a team leader from the participating dealerships.

Ford SA has invested significantly in the Rally to Read and other programmes over the years and these dealers were visibly energised to once again engage with the nine participating schools in the White River/Hazyview area.

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow – our daughters are the mothers and the nurturers of the future. The reality, though, is that forty per cent of 14-year-olds have a reading capacity equal to that of a seven-year-old.

Research by Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found that 78 per cent of grade four learners cannot read with comprehension. And, according to David Furlonger, editor-at-large of the Financial Mail, forty per cent of current CSI spend in South Africa is wasted due to the lack of structure and accountability.

Since its inception in 1998, Rally to Read has brought hope and support to 16 000 primary schools, 12 000 teachers and 250 000 children. Its founder is the well-known Brand Pretorius.

The programme, which runs over three years, supplies each school with portable classroom libraries. The books and other material are scientifically developed and synchronise with the curricula of the Department of Education. Teachers are trained on the application of each grade’s material and the intervention is closely monitored over a period of three years.

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The programme currently involves six school districts across five provinces. Kenneth Lekhuwane, principal at Khombindlela Primary School, said, “The disappearance of storytelling elders in our culture is partly a cause of the lack of comprehension among our kids.

Storytelling and play methodologies within the Rally to Read programme help to bridge these gaps.” This view is supported by Nkosi Nelson, principal at Siyamukela Primary. He added, “We have moved from teacher-centric to learner-centric methodologies of teaching, and this programme provides excellent and creative support in our school.”

Ockert Berry, Ford Motor Company of South Africa’s vice-president of operations, said, “From grade one to grade three, you learn to read. From grade four onwards, you read to learn.”

Although not the standard, it is not uncommon to find classrooms with as many 90 learners in some of these schools. In rural schools, learners are taught in their mother tongue from grade R to grade three.

In grade four, the teaching language changes to primarily English. This presents some challenges. The vocalisation of the alphabet letters – for one – differs from the mother tongue to English and may well produce some misinterpretation.

With English being the language of business and the world, would it not make more sense to just start with English right from Grade R?

Mavis Maseko, a teacher for 20 years and 12 years with the READ Educational Trust, replied, “Building relationships to cultivate buy-in and overcome resistance is a challenging process. And although I agree with the sentiment, a solid mother-tongue grounding does ease the learning of a second language.

Our programme does introduce English in grade one and this contributes to its success in changing the face of literacy at participating schools.”

“We have, from year one to two, seen a measurable improvement in both reading and understanding of up to 12 per cent within the participating schools,” said Stephan Venter, general manager of Westvaal Numbi Ford. “Learner confidence levels have also improved.”

Rally to Read programmes have proven successful in the intention to bridge the reading and comprehension gaps within the system. It compliments a learner-centric approach where storytelling and play-learning brings back structured fun to the learning process.

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