Education charities in Cape Town are waging a war on inequality and inequity in education. Education is a basic human right that allows people to gain access to equal opportunity and thus a head start in the job market to support themselves and their families. Masicorp is one such education charity in Cape Town – providing educational programmes and key skills development courses tailored to the community of Masiphumelele for overall development and growth in the community.

Bringing Opportunity to Masiphumelele’s Doorstep

Opportunity is around every corner – if you know how to access and use it to your advantage. The real issue that learners in Masiphumelele face is the barrier to modern learning tools, funding, and modern equipment. Most learners here have little to no working knowledge of computers and even though they may have access to mobile devices capable of browsing the web – data is always a struggle as households are forced to prioritise food and necessities over such luxuries.

Covid-19 disrupted our ‘normal’ way of life, and this affected every level of society right down to the core of education. Children had to attend classes in staggered timetables and would often miss vital days of school because of the confusion around the continually changing events regarding the pandemic. For many children living in affluent areas, technology was the way forward – but for children in Masiphumelele, access to technology for platforms like Google Classroom was extremely limited. Masicorp’s ICDL centre offered its facilities free of charge for children writing NBT tests and we also handed out data vouchers to children that had access to mobile devices but not the data to navigate these learning platforms.

We Stand for Education – Preschool Interventions

The barriers to reducing gaps in equal access to opportunity – especially for children from Masi, who face massive challenges daily, are large but small interventions can yield surprising and significant effects. Masicorp is an education charity in Cape Town, and we implement a feeding programme that provides our ECD children with two hot, healthy nutritious meals daily as well as two energizing fruit snacks to keep children focused and learning in the classroom. Our staff are continuously upskilled and encouraged to participate in skills development courses. This unique approach to holistic education is a start to making big waves to uplift the standard of early childhood education in Masiphumelele.

The Stay and Play programme – a head start intervention designed to provide developmental support and a stimulating environment for children and teachers from informal creches. The hope is that these children benefit from the standard of our ECD centres, and the teachers are equipped with the knowledge to carry forward and implement in their own creches. With ongoing support from Masicorp – we continue to work with 18 informal creches and 300 children annually to help close the gaps in opportunity for children attending informal creches.

Keeping Learning Alive

Research suggests that over the end of year holidays, children tend to lose an abundance of knowledge that they had acquired throughout the previous academic year. This can often make it difficult for children to develop and grow their knowledge base consistently, as well as make it hard or educators to keep the momentum going in the classroom.

Masicorp helps with this by using a unique setup at Ukhanyo Primary school in Masiphumelele. Our learning labs run various programmes during break times and after school activities to help children excel through interactive learning activities that stimulate children and help them excel in all areas of the classroom.

Our after-school programmes benefits children attending Ukhanyo Primary School as it is a haven for children to engage with educational activities – which inspire and keep the learning alive, long after the normal school day has ended.

Skills Development Courses Create Entrepreneurship

It is rare to find an education charity in Cape Town that is so diverse in its educational programmes. Our diversity is a direct result from engaging with the community and key stakeholders that understand the needs of the people living in Masiphumelele.

Masicorp runs skills development courses like the Evangeline Life Skills course that teaches people a trade (sewing) and provides them with a free sewing machine upon graduation. Our ICDL (International Computer Drivers Licence) course is internationally accredited and opens doors for people by teaching them fundamental computer skills that allow them to access opportunities they might never have had the confidence to pursue before.

Support an education charity in Cape Town that is bridging gaps to opportunity for the many residents of Masiphumelele here. Find out more about what we do by visiting our website. If you would like to talk to a team member, please don’t hesitate to call our office on +27 012 785 1923 and see how you can play your role in uplifting education transformation in South Africa.