The Methodist Education Initiative
was formed by Dave Bentley in 1996 to formalise the work that had already been
happening in supporting previously disadvantaged schools since 1990.
The response to the challenge was
initiated by a visit to schools in Daveyton and Etwatwa in 1991 to see the
situation first hand – Dave and Gill Bentley were hosted by Principal Elphas
Dube of Daveyton Intermediate School, who has been a key enabler throughout the
process.
BOOKS
In early 2003, a letter was received
from the Together with Africa and Asia Association (TAAA), a Japanese volunteer
group. The letter was addressed to the Training and Development Foundation who
passed it on to us.
It turned out that there were 40
Japanese mailbags at the tiny local post office full of books – probably over a
ton of books. This relationship continued with regular arrivals of bags of
books, the sorting of those books in the church hall and the distribution of
those books to the local disadvantaged schools.
LIBRARY
At one of the book sorting sessions a
discussion developed around the best way of using these books. This prompted
the idea of a mobile library:
The schools had no library culture or
training and so had no means of issuing and recovering books they had been
given. We could provide this.
The schools would then have access to
all the books from a common stock that would effectively circulate.
We shared this idea with TAAA who
announced that they had mobile libraries in Japan and they would see if they
could get us one.
In late 1996 they announced that they had found a second-hand mobile library in good shape and had received funding to ship it to South Africa and it was on its way by boat.
In late 1996 they announced that they had found a second-hand mobile library in good shape and had received funding to ship it to South Africa and it was on its way by boat.
OPERATING
In July 1997 the mobile library
started operating and has been operating continuously since. It started with 4
schools and over the years grew to over 42 schools. We have limited our service
to the 28 schools who make active use of the library.
We had built a storeroom and garage
at Daveyton Intermediate School, which is still our base, with support from the
Department of Education through the local director Dr Braam Fleisch and
financial support from the Japanese Post Office, via TAAA.
Mrs Margaret Grayer, a part of St
Andrews School Outreach, contacted us to see if they could assist us as their
programme in Daveyton at the time had to be scaled down but they were aligned
with our vision. She happened to be an ex-librarian and so became the mobile
library librarian until her untimely death from cancer. This started the long
relationship with St Andrews Outreach, now called Ubambiswano, which exists to
this day. They paid the salary of the first librarian through Margaret and have
done so ever since. The mobile library
has operated with the same vehicle continuously since 1997.
READING GOGOS
In 2006 a discussion between the then
librarian, Megan Baston, Sue Skidmore (a friend) and Mr Elphas Dube led to the
concept of a group of native English speakers interacting with foundation phase
pupils to assist in the development of their English. In the previously black
schools, pupils are taught in their mother tongue until grade 3. From grade 4
this changes to English being the language of education from Grade 4 to 12. This
change of medium of instruction could be made easier if the pupils had access
to English prior to grade 3.
In February 1998 the Reading Gogo
programme started with simply reading English books to the pupils for one hour
a week. “Although our Gogo name doesn’t always
apply we are not changing it because to the children anyone over the age of 30
can safely be addressed as ‘Gogo’!”
You too can make a difference to pass
on your love of reading, of words and related activities to children who may
not come from a reading culture. The children
often do not speak English at home and many are orphans or are from child
headed households. No qualifications are
required.
If you would like to volunteer for an
hour or so each week during term times to assist with reading and other
activities at four schools in Daveyton, East Rand contact Vivienne Ridyard Tel:
011 849-5508 / 073 147 5505
SCHOOL STUDENT EXPERIENCE
“I will always remember the Gogos
because it’s like they raised and nurtured me to become the smart kid I am now”
– Sibusisiwe Jiyane, Grade 8, Daveyton Intermediate School
“I will always remember them (the
Gogos) because it was an extraordinary and fantastic experience. They are the ones who taught us English very
well. First of all, I would like to say “I
miss the Gogos and will always love them!” – Keitumetse Baloyi, Grade 8,
Daveyton Intermediate School
“They gave us a fun learning and
interactive experience, and they helped me improve my literacy skills in the
process.” – Lesedi Molopyane, Grade 10, Letsha Primary School
“Yes, with the foundation you gave
me, I have surpassed all the grades with a good academic record. I will remember them because the books we
read where not only fun but they always had a lesson that helps me to cope with
life. Thank you for teaching me the
importance of reading especially in a world where books are being replaced with
videos on YouTube.” – Lesego Poo, Grade 7, Letsha Primary School
