Building Better Lives

June 2022

“Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of building better lives.” – Nelson Mandela

At Hlanganani, we strive to give our children the best chance to succeed. One of the main factors is helping them with their educational journey in regards to school supplies, fees, clothes, and tuition needs. Sadly, within the South African government education system, only 55 % of children who enter school end up passing matric; a staggering 45% either fail or drop out of school – we desire for all of our children to pass!

However, many of our Hlanganani children are failing or struggling with crucial subjects, specifically Maths and English. Therefore, we felt it was imperative to intercede to help our children have a successful school experience. As the old African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child” therefore, we reached out to our “village” – our local church supporters and others within our local community to help rectify this matter. After going through an interview process, we were highly encouraged to have a group of volunteers commit to tutoring the children twice a month after our bimonthly mentorship groups on Sunday afternoons.

As a baby must first learn to crawl before it can walk effectively, so our tutoring program has slowly gotten up and “walking”, with a few kinks we are working out on the way. Tutors of every level are invaluable – if you know how to read and can sit and listen to a 7-year-old read, that is perfect, as is working with high schoolers on their math, English, and science questions. No matter one’s level of knowledge, it is priceless to have volunteers willing to give their time and expertise to help our children learn and grow.

If you live in the Joburg area and are interested in helping us tutor the children, please contact Ryan Gray at ryan@grayfamilymissions.com alternatively, if you wish to support the tutoring program with a donation towards transport fees (the children all come to one location from all over), every cent counts and is much appreciated! Please click here to donate!