An afternoon of homework help for a child in South Africa

Support for educational equity

Educational opportunities for children from precarious backgrounds in South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal is a multifaceted region: it is the home of the Zulus, but also the place where the first Europeans, including Vasco da Gama, landed on Christmas (“Natal”) in 1497. The city of Durban and the Drakensberg are very popular with tourists. However, hardly any visitors make it to the sparsely populated areas far from the coast. The communities living there are known for their hospitality. But they struggle with the challenges associated with poverty, HIV/AIDS, inadequate water and electricity supplies, and a lack of access to education. The structural drivers of many of these problems are not least the consequences of apartheid (Thurlow et al., 2009). What is impressive is that many of the young people who are affected by poverty or have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and are facing an uncertain future do not give up hope. The support services available after school help them on their further educational path.

need

Homework and life support for children and young people in South Africa.

activity

Local partner organization looks after orphans and children from precarious backgrounds after school, supports them in their studies and prepares hot meals.

Measurable performance

Number of hours of afternoon care and number of children benefiting from homework help and hot meals.

Result

Children’s academic performance improves, absences decrease and more pupils graduate from school.

Systemically relevant impact

Improved educational opportunities and career prospects for poor children, increased social mobility and more educational equity

background

Although the school enrollment rate in South Africa is comparatively high at 92 percent, public schools are underfunded and the quality of teaching is low (World Bank, 2015; Robinson, 2019; World Economic Forum, 2017). This particularly affects orphans and children who grow up in precarious living situations and cannot receive sufficient support from their parents. There are many of these children - over 20 percent of people in South Africa are HIV-positive or have AIDS (Robinson, 2019). Many parents die young or are seriously ill. The rural and economically weak community of Jozini in the north of KwaZulu-Natal is particularly affected. There are numerous orphans and children with difficult family backgrounds in the region's schools. Parenting tasks are often taken over by grandparents or older siblings, who are therefore placed under great emotional and social strain. In addition, there is the economic hardship caused by the loss of parents. Help with learning, social care and healthy nutrition cannot be guaranteed in every household. Poverty, poor prospects and inadequate sexual education also lead to an increase in teenage pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS (UNFPA 2019; Booysen and Summerton, 2002). The children need help to break the vicious cycle of poverty, HIV/AIDS and lack of access to education.

It is no coincidence that some regions of South Africa are particularly badly off. The apartheid political regime institutionalized the authoritarian dominance of white people in South Africa and systematically discriminated against people of other skin colors. Institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa increased particularly from 1948, when the Boers (mostly South Africans of Dutch or European descent) won the elections. From 1948 onwards, non-whites were systematically excluded from political participation and from the economic elite. In public places, a strict separation of white and non-white people was prescribed. Mixed marriages were prohibited. From 1950 onwards, residential areas were prescribed. Non-whites had to move to so-called townships outside the inner cities. The education systems were separated. The government's goal was to train people with black skin for physical labor, while people with white skin were to be increasingly prepared for higher education.
It was only when the protest movement of the non-white opposition grew stronger in the 1970s that the apartheid regime began to falter. Nelson Mandela, as leader of the political opposition, negotiated the end of apartheid. The laws of racial segregation were only gradually repealed. Nevertheless, their long-term consequences can still be felt today in the structural weakness of certain regions of South Africa.

The good deed

Today's good deed will help children and young people from precarious backgrounds in KwaZulu-Natal with their homework. The aim of the partner organization is to offer the children and young people a stable environment and enable them to successfully complete school. In the Learning Center, the children and young people receive homework help, social support, leisure activities, sexual and health education and hot meals after school. This environment forms the basis for learning success and career prospects, enables a self-determined life and promotes educational equality. The community also benefits because local jobs are created for caregivers. The burden on the parents - often grandparents or older siblings - is reduced.

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