VWSA launches new Bay literacy centres

Children who challenge you are the ones who need you most, according to Literacy Centre manager Babalwa Khona.

Speaking at Noninzi Luzipho Primary School in KwaNobuhle on Friday, where the launch of three new literary centres in the area took place, Khona said success in education was influenced by the involvement of all parties.

One of the first steps towards literacy was fostering early speech and language development, she said.

The official opening was held at Noninzi Luzipho Primary School, with two more centres located at James Ntungwana Primary School and Vuba Primary School.

Volkswagen South Africa has invested R2m into the centres for building and the purchasing of books.

“From the day a child is born, the input and responses received from caregivers help them build an understanding and use of language.

“Simple games and routines that practise sound manipulation and letter recognition, as well as interaction with books, create the foundation children need to learn to read and write,” Khona said.

The centres support children under the age of 10 to read with understanding before entering grade 4.

“Children are given individual attention by trained learning partners,” she said.

The centres are divided into four sections – paired reading, shared reading, goal writing and word play and rhymes.

Khona said between 2017 and 2018 the centre had 140 pupils.

Of those, 124 graduated successfully into grade 4.

VWSA chair and managing director Thomas Schaefer said education was one of the country’s biggest challenges.

“As a caring and responsible corporate citizen, VWSA decided to establish a programme to ensure all learners in Uitenhage are functionally literate by the time they reach grade 3.”

To support this goal, Old Mutual also donated R180,000 worth of books, he said.