It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live...

On attending the Agape 2018 Graduation, we were met with a beautiful success story of Odwa Siwundla, a young girl that grew up in Asanda Village. Odwa had attended Agape from the age of 10 months old, enrolled in early 2012 and remained in the school, successfully completing her Grade R in 2017. Odwa was always a quiet child but seen as a confident leader by her peers. She did very well with all her school work, and as children do, she always loved to play. At Agape they strongly believe in the beauty of learning through play. A child’s ability to learn is shaped during the first six years of life through a holistic approach which emphasises the importance of the child’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Today, she is in Grade 2 in Somerset House; a unique, well known private school in Somerset West. For some, this may seem normal, attending a school in a suburban area, but the sad reality of it is, people living in impoverished areas don’t attend “good suburban” schools and very often do not have access to great foundation phase education. But this story will show you otherwise; it doesn’t matter who you are, where you live or what your financial circumstances may be, we all want what is best for our children and many parents will go to the ends of the earth to make this happen. When the time came to look for schools for Odwa to begin her formal schooling career, her father broke the news to her mother, that he wanted to send her to Somerset House and he had the money to do so. Odwa’s father, a teacher at Silukhanyo Primary School in Asanda Village had put aside money for his daughter's education from when she was only 3 months old, without his wife knowing anything about it. When she found out she was shocked and elated all in the same breath, how had he kept such a secret from her for so long? This was Thabisa, Agape’s Project Manager’s intentions when inviting Odwa to attend the graduation as a guest speaker, she wanted to show the parents in her community that no matter where you live, it doesn’t determine your child’s future; think out of the box, save money each month and you too can provide for your child's future. The Siwundla family live right next door to Agape, which is also Nosiseko, Odwa’s mothers’ very own Spaza Shop; Khanya Cosmetics. Each and everyday Nosiseko, saves R5 for each of her 4 daughters, budgeting for the future of her daughters. She is her daughter's biggest supporter, “I’m learning from her and I am proud of that!”. Odwa is so happy at her school, she has a nice group of friends and is excited to go to school because each and every day she learns something new. Her favourite subject is Mathematics and she really enjoys handwriting and sport, Netball and Swimming to be specific. So much so that she received awards for her involvement in Netball and Swimming as well as her excellence in Mathematics. Every day after school, she does her homework in aftercare, while waiting for her father to fetch her so that when she gets home she can relax, read and watch her favourite programs on Cartoon Network. Her dream is to one day be a doctor, to work with children specifically and she cannot wait for Grade 4, where she will finally start learning science. She still has fond memories of her time at Agape, remembering her teachers and Principal as kind, friendly and loving. She still visits them from time to time, when she goes to fetch her younger sister, currently in the 3 to 4-year-old group at Agape. She enjoys teaching her things she has learnt from school and hopes she grows up nicely. A monthly donation of R250 is all it takes to Sponsor a Desk for a child at any of our Educare Centres. Your gift each month combines with the gifts of other sponsors and the support of school fees from the parents themselves. Education is the key to success and one’s determination and persistence in ensuring the best for their child opens so many more doors.