Stonehenge Farm School in the Eastern Cape, South Africa is changing lives, one child at a time. From humble beginnings in the early 1980s, it now serves 80 children from all over the Thomas River farming district. These young children face challenges not encountered by those in a town school and many have to walk kilometers to and from their mini-bus pick-up points.
Senior Phase teacher Daphne Fletcher says, “When the rain comes and the road washes away, there is no school. The Little Zebra books that children were able to take home continue to be a big hit! I can guarantee that these books will be read over and over again. For some households it is the first book they own.”
The Stonehenge Farm School is not only passionate about reading, but also provides extra-murals, runs enrichment programs and grows food gardens, coordinated by Principal Nomfusi Siswana. The daily difficulties faced by rural communities can be disheartening, but the children are resilient and love coming to school to learn, to play and to read!
Daphne goes on to say that in her Grade 4 to 7 classrooms literacy comes first and that everything hinges on being able to read. We agree! And we are very grateful for people like Daphne who are making reading accessible and fun to so many in South Africa.