I can see the difference in people's lives,” says Margie Osler, who is responsible for teacher development at Umthombo Wolwazi. She farms in another valley and trains pre-school teachers. Even so, she drives over to Hantam once a month to talk the teachers through their problems. “I would never cut my ties with Hantam,” she says, “children who were not coping before now want to learn. I see light suddenly shine – and in the teachers too.

“What is unusual about this project is that the needs come from the community,” Margie continues. “Even though English is a third language for most people who live here (after Afrikaans and Xhosa), parents chose English as the language of instruction. For Xhosa-speaking teachers, it is a huge task to teach in English.”

Teacher Development
Fact File
The Trust has helped train teachers from 13 schools in the district, reaching over 200 teachers and 4 500 pupils.
Teachers at our school continue weekly development sessions to boost their classroom outcomes.