A young girl faced great hardship from an early age, confronting challenges that no child should have to endure alone. Despite the odds stacked against her, she did not fall through the cracks.
Khula Development Group, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preventing school dropout among primary school learners from under-resourced communities in South Africa and a beneficiary of the Val de Vie Foundation, stepped in at the right time.
Khula works with learners from Grade R to Grade 4, the stage at which the educational journey begins. By addressing the root causes of disengagement early, they invest in the education and development of these young minds, helping them realise their potential.
Khula’s programme, SAgo2school, aims to ensure that these children reach their developmental potential and empowers caregivers and teachers to provide sustained support so that learners can flourish. In the schools where Khula operates, this means transforming vulnerable learners into confident leaders, keeping them engaged, building foundational skills and creating lasting change that ripples through families and communities.
Supported by her grandmother, who remained dedicated to her and was guided by the Khula programme, this young girl found the strength to persevere. She worked hard, faced setbacks and gradually found her footing.
Today, she stands at the front of her school, announced as Head Prefect. This is what Khula hopes to achieve: not just keeping children in school, but creating space for them to grow into who they were always meant to be.
