| Hantam Community Education Trust has secured a major boost from the UK Big Lottery Fund for its work to improve levels of achievement in Northern Cape primary schools. Over R4 million has been awarded for a project at Umthombo Wolwazi, Lowryville and Eureka schools to give Foundation Phase children a better start in life. The funds were raised in partnership with Canon Collins Trust, a UK charity committed to improving educational opportunities in southern Africa.
Working together, Hantam Community Education Trust and Canon Collins Trust will address two of the barriers to achievement faced by children in their early years of schooling - language and health. The project will train teachers from all three schools in ow to emphasise communication and vocabulary in the classroom, so that language problems caused by community illiteracy and by learning in a second language do not become an obstacle to education. It will also offer all 5-8 year olds the health support they need to succeed at school, by employing school nurses and by providing health awareness advice to parents and carers.
Hantam Community Education Trust have been working with their community in the Great Karoo since 1989, first running a crèche but quickly moving on to set up a school, clinic and pharmacy. Project Coordinator Lesley Osler says of this latest project: “Having worked with and been a part of the community for so long, we are always on the lookout for ways to make life better for local children. Once we had identified the main causes of underachievement in our primary schools, we ran a pilot programme to test methods of addressing them.
Once we had found a solution, our only restraint was funding. We worked with Canon Collins Trust for over a year to put together a full application to the UK Big Lottery Fund, and were over the moon when our bid was a success! This funding will make a real difference for children at these schools.”
The health and language support that will be provided to Foundation Phase children will improve their grades, health, concentration and attendance, giving them an excellent start to their education and preparing them thoroughly for the Intermediate Phase. The Departments of Education and Health are taking a keen interest in the project, and in what lessons can be drawn from it by other schools.
Canon Collins Trust
Canon Collins Trust provides opportunities for people to develop their potential through improved skills and knowledge to achieve transformation in southern Africa. Our vision is of an open and just society free from discrimination, where all people can meet their needs and have the opportunity to realise their potential.
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2250 disadvantaged students have been funded in the UK and South Africa, since Canon Collins Trust was founded in 1981 |
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60 to 100 a year are funded to study in the UK |
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250 scholarships are funded each year for people from southern Africa to undertake a Masters or PhD qualification at a higher education institution in South Africa |
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Over the last year, we have directly benefited over 50,000 people in southern Africa through our scholarship programme and education projects. |
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an in-service training programme for teachers; |
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a bursary programme to enable successful students from the area to undergo tertiary education; |
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and a primary health clinic and pharmacy |
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For more information, or an interview with Chief Executive Sarah Nancollas, please contact Adina Farmaner at Canon Collins Trust,
office phone: +44 (0) 20 7354 1462,
mobile: 0794 123 9639, email adina@canoncollins.org.uk
Website www.canoncollins.org.uk
 CLICK HERE if you wish to show your support for the Hantam Commmunity Endowment Trust in South Africa. Please furnish us with all your details and we will contact you directly.
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