“Dear FunDza Team. Thank you for facilitating a great meeting. It was insightful to give feedback in a more relaxed environment, sharing of what has been working in different organizations, schools etc. I really felt encourage to implement some of the best practices we have learnt. We appreciate the support and always striving to make the most in our learners in reading clubs. May we continue igniting the ability of learners embracing the culture of learning through stories that relevant and meaningful to them. Big ups!”
These are the words from Ayanda Hadebe Farrar, from Beautiful Gate, after attending the Beneficiary Tea with FunDza on Tuesday, 7 February. Lovely snacks, tea and coffee, and open minds were present and accounted for!
The idea behind the tea was to get beneficiary groups into the same room together so that they could share their experiences of using FunDza books and resources. Most importantly, we – the FunDza staff – were there to learn and discover. The most important things that we wanted to find out was how to make our programme better. We wanted to find out what activities, training and support beneficiary groups most needed and would most value. And, we wanted to also to give the beneficiary groups a taste of what else FunDza offers.
It was an enlightening, heart-warming and eye-opening experience for us all.
The ‘Reading Champions’ offered us a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise. And, their suggestions will help us to shape our Popularising Reading programme so that it can better meet our beneficiaries’ needs.
It was also so rewarding to hear how much our beneficiaries appreciate the books. This was evident from the comments and feedback provided throughout the visit. This gives us strength to continue with the work we do to support a culture of reading and writing amongst our youth.
We were delighted that Reading Champions from the following beneficiary groups made the time to come to our tea: Beautiful Gate South Africa, Usasaza High School, Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School, Moshesh Primary School, Claremont High School, Kwa-Faku Reading Club and South African Education and Environment Project. We thank these beneficiaries for attending and we are looking forward to working with them in the coming year.