why we exist
the need
South Africa is characterized by notable educational deprivation due to the following reasons:
- Large numbers of children do not have access to pre-school's and of those that get the opportunity, many do not complete the primary cycle.
- Education quality is poor and an enormous gap exists between the number of pupils graduating from school and those mastering a minimum set of cognitive skills.
- Most families do not have the time, resources or knowledge to give attention to school readiness strategies for their children.
the facts: South Africa
- Only 17 out of every hundred young children in the country have access to any kind of pre-schools.
- Only 43 of every 100 (black South African) children who start school actually reach grade 12.
- Forty percent of South Africa's children never obtain even basic literacy and numeracy.
- Nearly a quarter of children under the age of five are stunted due to long-term malnutrition.
- The school dropout rate of children is reduced by 60% if they attend pre-school.
the facts: Johannesburg
- More than half the households in Johannesburg – a city of 3.2 million people – earn R1 600 or less a month.
- Almost one in five residents lives in informal settlements.
- 18% of residents aged 20+ do not have schooling beyond primary school
Stats SA key Indicators. http://www.statssa.gov.za/keyindicators/keyindicators.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty