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View the stories of learners who have received brighter opportunities through Project 10 000, and tutors and parents who have been part of making a difference!
Tsepho’s Story
September 2017:
Tshepo attends a well known public school in Johannesburg. He is a hardworking, dedicated, well-mannered student, who has never had the academic, social and emotional support that he has needed and is now facing the reality that he may not be able to continue next year if he fails Grade 9 again (he is already a few years behind his age-group). He has an undiagnosed speech disorder, including a stutter, and is very shy and reserved due to this. He is brought to tears when confronted in a group, and has been given an allowance to do speeches on his own. His favourite subjects are Maths and Science, but he really struggles with English in particular, but also Afrikaans. This has a knock-on effect on his other content based subjects such as Geography. In his spare time, Tshepo enjoys music and drawing, and is very good at both. The school has agreed to provide a classroom for the tutoring to take place in during the afternoon, as he is embarrassed to have the lessons at his home. His parents are uninvolved in his life and unfortunately don’t respond to requests from the guidance counsellor to attend meetings to discuss his future.
A generous BrightSparkz parent sponsored one-on-one tutoring for Tsepho during the final term of 2017, and this was the outcome…
December 2017:
We (BrightSparkz) received a call from the school counselor, who let us know the following:
In 2017, when the counsellor called Tshepo into her office where he opened his report. It revealed 52% for English (his highest mark ever achieved) and 36% for Afrikaans (up 4% from last term). When she told him that because Afrikaans was the only subject he had failed (he had been failing English as well), and that he would be proceeding to Grade 10, he started hyperventilating with excitement, breathing deeply, and was beaming.
Coming from a home where not much interest is taken to support him, and where doesn’t have an environment that is conducive to learning, the opportunity to have a tutor sit with him at school has quite literally changed his life and future, as well as his outlook on his academic potential and his future opportunities.
January 2019:
Tshepo has now passed Grade 10 and is so optimistic about Grade 11. His counsellor believes he will benefit from having a reader and scribe in Grade 11, to assist with his language difficulties.
Because of Project 10 000 and a caring sponsor, Tsepho was able to achieve his learning goals for 2018! :) Get in touch with us to find out how you can help a learner in need achieve their goals!
Listen to Tshepo’s Story
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B’s Story (from the perspective of her tutor, Boitumelo):
November 2017:
I’ve been tutoring a hard working Matric student, who I’ll call B here. B’s tutoring is sponsored through Project 10 000. Sponsored tutoring can bring its challenges – I initially tutored B at her school, but using that venue became problematic because it was not always available. We now work in a public library, with far fewer interruptions!
B struggled with some topics in Mathematical Literacy, Geography and Life Sciences and she explained how she is often afraid to reach out to the teachers when she does not understand the work. This for me meant that I had to work extra hard at breaking the barriers that exist in B’s learning journey. I did my best to build a friendly environment where she felt encouraged to try harder every time, believe in herself and feel free to make mistakes.
After her mid-year examinations, she explained how she did not panic and felt confident when writing. Her marks and level of understanding also showed major improvements and that’s when I knew that the job was well done. I felt a sense of great achievement and satisfaction. What I appreciated the most is the level of commitment and willingness from both B and her humble mother.
Overall, tutoring B helped me become a better tutor and a patient person. It was truly an amazing journey.
Read Boitumelo’s full article here. Get in touch with us to see how you can be involved in Project 10 000.
Listen to B’s Story
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