‘Every school child deserves a dictionary’
A local boy is creating ways to ensure his peers have easy access dictionaries next year
WHILE other teenagers are making lists of what they would want for Christmas, a local boy is creating ways to ensure his peers have easy access to information next year.
Sithembiso Khumalo (15), a Grade 10 pupil at Birdswood Secondary School is heading a ‘Donate a Dictionary’ campaign with hope it will assist his peers to improve their education and the mastering of the English language.
His aim is to collect dictionaries and donate them to underprivileged children around the region.
‘All high school subjects are taught in English and for African children it is sometimes difficult to absorb information if we don’t have the full understanding of the language, phrases and what certain words mean,’ said Sithembiso.
‘It is an obstacle for us as children to learn if in just one paragraph, there words we don’t know or understand. Most children from disadvantage backgrounds struggle to get dictionaries, which sometimes cripples their education.’
‘Fully understanding words will improve our understanding of all subjects and it will be easy to absorb information in class.’
‘Some of our peers end up failing, not because they are not smart but because the language is a barrier which prevents them from understanding,’ he said.
Zululanders can contribute to the ‘Donate a Dictionary’ campaign by dropping off dictionaries in the campaign boxes around shopping centres in the region.
The first box has been erected at the Sanlam Centre Empangeni next to the Tourism Information Hub.
For more information on the project or on how to donate, call Sithembiso on 062 2126150.
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