“Molo Mhlaba” for Khayelitsha’s young girls – selected by Azania

Molo Mhlaba means “Hello World” and its aim is to introduce young girls in Khayelitsha, Western Cape, to a world of quality education and endless learning opportunities in a society where crime, poverty and inequality are prevalent.

According to Molo Mhlaba, “one of the biggest challenges in Khayelitsha is accessing schools with quality teaching and learning”. Therefore, in 2018, the school was founded by a group of black women, namely, Dr Rethabile Sonibare (acting principal), Athambile Masola and the women of the Thope Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

As the first Pan African Girls Private school in Khayelitsha, Molo Mhlaba offers foundation phase teaching. The young girls are taught coding and robotics, amongst other subjects, to prepare them for the future. Learners are also offered bilingual classes in Xhosa and English.

The school uses the Montessori inspired approach to create a ‘fun, playful and creative’ learning. However, the school charges low tuition fees to provide access to all and expose learners to other opportunities in the world of learning. It also encourages guardian or parental involvement and active participation in the learning process of the children throughout the year.

Why girls only?

The school chose the girls only approach because of the societal pressures or issues faced mostly by young girls in the community. In a high crime area like Khayelitsha, the school’s aim is to provide a safe learning environment for young girls.

The school has extended learning hours and programmes as a way of keeping learners safe until parents are able to fetch them. It also offers a twice-a-day nutritious meal plan as part of bridging societal challenges like poverty that most of the households these learners come from are faced with daily.

As Nelson Mandela once said, “children must, at last, play in the open veld, no longer tortured by the pangs of hunger or ravaged by the disease or threatened with the scourge of ignorance, molestation and abuse, and no longer required to engage in deeds whose gravity exceeds the demands of their tender years”.

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LottoStar | 702 update: 06 May 2019

The total amount contributed to Molo Mhlaba is R9 000.