Promoting a love for reading
I have always loved children. Now that my own are grown up, spending time with my Shine kids is the most rewarding thing. These children grow up amidst violence and so much scarcity. But if they can learn how to read and write, and to love doing so, I believe they can grow up to do absolutely anything.

Meet Liz, one of more than 70 volunteers who participate in the Shine Literacy foundation phase reading programmes at Kewtown and Kleinberg Primary Schools. Liz and her fellow volunteers meet weekly, one-on-one with selected learners, to develop literacy skills and promote a love for reading. They are a caring and stable presence in the lives of these young children, many of whom come from challenging circumstances.
Typically, learners remain in the Shine Literacy programme for two years, but this year at Kewtown Primary, five of the Grade 3 learners had improved so much – achieving an average literacy score of 92% (a fabulous achievement!) – that they graduated out of the programme. This made way for other struggling learners to join for the rest of the year. The Grade 2 learners were also re-assessed and showed a 35% improvement in just 6 months, compared to a class average of 12% over the same period.
Kleinberg Primary in Ocean View, has enjoyed similar results. In just the first half of this year, Grade 2 learners participating in Shine showed an average improvement of 37% and the number of at-risk learners dropped from 31 to 14.
As each of these children develop their literacy skills and grow in confidence, they are shifting the trajectory of their future.

If you would like to volunteer two hours a week for Shine Literacy, please get in contact with our volunteer coordinator.
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