Itireleng Hammanskraal

Dr Nkidi Phatudi started a community engagement project after the end of a Literacy Project that was conducted at Itireleng Primary School in Hammanskraal in 2010. This Literacy Programme was funded by EDCON to the tune of R100 000.00. The Literacy Project’s aim was to upgrade Foundation Phase teachers Literacy skills. This project was prompted by appalling literacy results of the Foundation Phase learners reported over the past few years. The district officials in particular recommended this part of Gauteng as in need of an intervention as learners were grappling with reading and writing. The project was two pronged. It was aimed at empowering teachers with own good literacy skills, and secondly it was to empower them with strategies needed in teaching literacy. The project lasted for only three months and was thus not sufficient to address the teachers’ problems sufficiently.

She therefore started a reading book club with teachers. She believes that only people who are avid readers can teach reading with passion. Teachers fail to teach reading because they are not readers themselves. Prof Teresa Harris of the University of James Madison, on hearing about this project, decided to donate children’s books.

Two afternoons in a week were set aside for the reading project. They started with children’s books, shared the stories with one another and thereafter brainstormed how they can be used in class across the curriculum. Strategies were shared with teachers – but later on she allowed them to bring forth own strategies that they thought could work for them. The project is ongoing and has since received more books from Prof Harris students who are members of the Association of Early Childhood International (AECI) on her recent visit to their university in Virginia and to the AECI conference in Washington.

The long term aim of this project is to involve children in the afternoons by reading with them. However for this to have positive impact Dr Phatudi needs to travel to the school quite often. She has subscribed to the Nalibali project started by PRAESA and Avusa media. Twice in a week she is supplied with newspapers which carry storybooks that can be cut out and bounded into a book. The stories are topical, and based on the South African context. The storybooks can also be taken home and be read with any literate member/s of the family.

In one of her network meetings, Dr Phatudi met an HR manager at the US embassy who she told about the project. The HR manager became so interested in the project that she asked her to apply for funding. The US embassy has since promised to fund this project which she believes will make a difference in the lives of children. A reading nation is a winning nation.