A Community Project
With the support of the local church and farming community, my husband and I, Rob and Fiona Hobson, run the project. I was once a high school science teacher, and am now a farmer’s wife. For nearly forty years I have been teaching adults to read, ever since the day I discovered that some of the people living on our farm were illiterate. In 2001 we started a weekly adult literacy class in Klipplaat for the many people there who in the past had no opportunity to go to school.
In 2008 we discovered that in spite of the fact that most children now attend school regularly, many of them reach their teens without being able to read at all.
We researched and found that this happens everywhere, not just in Klipplaat. With the help of the headmaster, we found some local people who were keen to be trained as remedial teachers, and the Five Loaves Two Fish remedial reading project started. I go to Klipplaat once a week to encourage and pay the teachers, and to provide them with reading materials when necessary.
Teachers in Action
Our teachers have more than 100 children on their lists, and make sure that they see each child at least once a week. They are there every school day, all morning, patiently and lovingly helping children learn to read. The headmaster and teachers at the school are very supportive of the programme, as they can see the difference that it makes to the children that they teach.
Learning to Read
The leader of our programme, Mrs Bruiners, is a retired Grade 2 teacher, seen here helping some children learn to read.
Qualifying Teachers
Ms Williams, who for many years was a teacher-in-training with us, and whose study fees were paid by Five Loaves Two Fish, is now a qualified Foundation Phase teacher and has taken up a state-paid post at a school nearby.
Teachers in Training
Here is the remedial reading classroom, with our two new teachers installed. Ms Grootboom and Ms May are both young teachers-in-training who are keen to learn how to teach children to read.
What We Do
We raise funds to pay three remedial teachers at the local primary school, where many children need help with learning to read. The government do not provide remedial teachers, and the parent body at the school cannot afford to appoint any. Five Loaves Two Fish also needs funds to pay the study fees of several Klipplaat teachers-in-training who are studying by correspondence.
