Ndondo's Story

Ndondo working on a math exercise

Ndondo Mazibuko carefully places his wooden number shapes in the matching slots on his board. Just over 2 years old, Ndondo can already count to 10 and is intent on completing this exercise. He does not look up to acknowledge the curious foreigner who is watching him. After finishing his math assignment for the day, he puts his number board on the toy shelf, and goes outside to play in the little yard beside the house where he studies.

Many children in South Africa cannot afford the related costs of schooling. Ndondo is lucky enough to be one of the 20 or so children that come to Annie Phohlela's house every day to learn. Since 1997, Annie has welcomed children into her small home in Orange Farm, an informal settlement outside Johannesburg, to offer them a Montessori-based education (a methodology whereby children learn from and about their environment). Annie acquired her skills as an educator from Woz'obona, a local organization that provides training and support to teachers.

Many communities in South Africa are taking the responsibility of educating children into their own hands. Initiatives like Annie's home-based school are springing up throughout the country – particularly in townships and rural areas struggling to catch up in the post-apartheid era. I was struck by the number of organizations that are working to provide education through the least expensive means possible. In one township outside of Durban, I visited a school that was housed in a used cargo shipping container. The container was huge – big enough to hold two classes of 40 children. It had been modified to create proper ventilation and play areas for the students. At another organization in Cape Town, I saw an entire library filled with toys made from recyclable goods – simple things like plastic bottles, cardboard sheets, and paper maché. Teachers come to the library to learn how to make toys from materials readily available in their own communities.

I came to South Africa in June 2002, and traveled to rural areas on the borders of Mozambique and Swaziland, in addition to the urban communities of Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. In all of these places, I met with community members, teachers, trainers, and other professionals so I could better understand the challenges they face and to discuss ways in which NetAid could support their efforts in providing a quality education to previously neglected communities. Everyone I talked to along my journey expressed a deep commitment to moving the development of their country forward and bridging inequalities through education.

While South Africa has a literacy rate of almost 82%, this number masks persistent racial discrepancies. Black and colored (the South African term for people of both black and white descent) South Africans still enter college at much lower rates than whites, drop out of school at higher rates, and have lower paying jobs. In some parts of the country, fewer than 50% of black South African students make it to high school.

Particularly problematic is the fact that math and science education – critical to South Africa's economic success in an increasingly high-tech world – are in a state of crisis. The country lacks qualified instructors in these fields; only 9% of math teachers have a higher degree in mathematics. Through its World Schoolhouse program, NetAid is working with the Math Centre for Professional Teachers in South Africa to train teachers, produce high quality and effective instructional and learning materials for Grades R-12, and develop a self-sustainable Mathematics and Education Centre in each province of the country.The mathematics instruction made possible by this program will build not just a generation of stronger math students, but ultimately, a stronger economic base for communities throughout South Africa.