Dear TNF Family,
Thank you for supporting our vision and mission during an incredible year of growth, reflection, and achievement. The Trevor Noah Foundation welcomed seven additional Khulani School partners and launched Khula Funda, a literacy initiative that will directly benefit over 4600 learners aged 4 to 11 and over 100 Foundation Phase teachers. We welcomed our second Education Changemaker cohort, hosting 49 young education leaders from 13 Sub-Saharan African countries. Lastly, after a successful pilot, we commenced Faranani Infrastructure Project in Ivory Park, which will upskill 100 previously unemployed youth, refurbish at least five schools in the surrounding area, and construct a new Community Hall.
With 14 active Khulani School partners and 100 Education Changemaker alumni, we more than doubled our reach this year, growth which wouldn’t have been possible without your support.
We hope you have a lovely holiday season with your loved ones. On behalf of our team, partners and communities, thank you for following our journey. We’ll see you in 2023!
All the best,
Executive Director, Trevor Noah Foundation
The end of the year is upon us, and as Trevor Noah Foundation, it would be amiss if we did not reflect on our progress so far. This year, we made significant strides to help foster a conducive environment for education, success, and equality in our Khulani Schools. What started from humble beginnings in 2018 with the launch of one partner school and working with just over 500 learners and 50 educators has grown exponentially over the past five years.
This year, through the help of 14 school partners from the programme, we impacted over 6000 youth and more than 500 educators through holistic projects and programmes. Furthermore, our staff complement grew from 3 to 10 members.
See a recap of how our Foundation performed in 2022.
Khulani Schools Programme
The Khulani Schools Programme focuses on four interventions: psychosocial health, infrastructure, digital skills, and literacy. These interventions are facilitated through the My Wellness-on-WhatsApp Programme, Faranani Infrastructure Project, Khula Funda Literacy Programme and Digital Literacy Afterschool Programme.
Wellness-on-WhatsApp Programme
Teachers serve crucial roles in a child’s life, helping to develop their minds and inspire them to greatness. However, they also deal with a lot of stress. Since 2019 the Wellness-on-WhatsApp Programme, run by our psychosocial support partner, MyOnline Therapist, has supported educators overcome the stressful situations they encounter, as an educator.
In August, MyOnline Therapist further onboarded two new primary schools in the Braamfischerville community. The resulting was that the programme was running in nine Khulani schools across three communities, giving access to 300 educators.
Faranani Infrastructure Project
In June, 74 participants graduated as the first cohort of the Faranani Infrastructure Project, in Braamfischerville. Not only did this project have an impact on the participants, but it also had a positive effect on their communities. Youth developed skills that helped to refurbish and build new infrastructure in the primary schools. In August, we welcomed the second cohort of 100 programme participants in Ivory Park.
Khula Funda Literacy Programme
According to the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 80% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning across all South African languages.
In August, we launched the Khula Funda Literacy Programme, targeting foundation phase learners in our Braamfischerville primary schools, in partnership with Nal’ibali. Nal’ibali’s storytelling model for literacy exemplifies the much-needed innovation to help instill the love of reading in learners.
Earlier this month, we successfully held the programme’s first Parent-School Community of Practice. The session aimed to engage all stakeholders in promoting and coordinating parent-school-community literature beyond the classroom.
Digital Literacy Afterschool Programme
At the beginning of the year, together with Edunova SA and Microsoft SA, we continued with digital skills afterschool programmes at our e-Learning centres in Siyabonga, Eqinisweni and Willow Crescent Secondary Schools.
Earlier this month, we held the second coding competition. Learners showcased their offline websites which served to provide innovative solutions to the current energy crisis in South Africa. Each school showed tremendous improvement from last year and a remarkable level of enthusiasm. Willow Crescent Secondary was the winner for the day, with Siyabonga Secondary coming second and Eqinisweni Secondary third.
Education Changemakers
In June, Trevor Noah Foundation welcomed 49 educators from 14 sub-Saharan nations for a four-week course as the second cohort of the Education Changemakers Programme This was done in collaboration with the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), the Regional Leadership Center (RLC) Southern Africa (SA), the University of South Africa (Unisa), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Conclusion
2022 has undoubtedly been a year to remember. We want to thank our amazing partners, Khulani Schools educators and all stakeholders for sharing our values and helping us achieve our annual goals. All partners have played a significant role in helping us shape our communities and societies to be leaders that our country needs. We look forward to future endeavours through their continued support.
