Edufundi

In 2017, as the Head of Grade 2 at Northwood Primary School Ms Juanita Gesoond was part of the Edufundi mentorship programme. During this time she attended the Creative Classrooms workshop, which gave her additional strategies for effective teaching and learning.

I am Mziyanda Mbunge, a Grade 4 English (FAL) teacher at Ebongweni Primary School in Port Elizabeth. I came to the school in 2017 from the Western Cape, where I started teaching in 2013. In 2018 Ms Bosman, my HOD, told me that I was one of the teachers who had been selected to be part of the Edufundi programme. I welcomed the offer as I saw it as an opportunity to develop myself.

Ms Khungelwa Dumzele is a Grade 1 teacher at Lwazi Primary School in Gugulethu, and she is mentored by Ms Joyce Baholo. She joined the Edufundi mentorship programme this year and made immense progress.

I am Melandri Ricci, a teacher at Machiu Primary School. I have not yet been teaching for as long as many other teachers at my school, but I’m sure there is one thing that many of us can agree upon – life in the classroom is not always easy.

One of the major barriers teachers face in our schools is the lack of basic resources to support teaching and learning. In 2017 Edufundi and their donors, Tsogo Sun and Corevest, recognised that one of the major resources needed was books - more importantly relevant, age appropriate, home language books that meet the specific needs and abilities of learners.

During our recent visit to Bonga Primary last Friday, Ms Ndakisa was given the gift of a reading corner with a book set and reading mat by her mentor Sylvie Moodley. Sylvie said “Ms Ndakisa sought support in the middle of last year because it was her first time teaching English as a First Additional Language. I started mentoring her in the 3rd term of last year.....and there has been no looking back.