Mikhulu Trust

In June 2023, the Mikhulu Trust partnered with the Centre for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution, a prestigious think tank based in Washington, D.C., to embark on groundbreaking research. This collaboration seeks to tackle global education challenges and drive innovative approaches to improving quality education and skills development. Understanding Parent and Teacher Perspectives Globally, surveys have been conducted in high schools and primary schools using "Conversation Starter Tools", which explore parent and teacher beliefs about education. These tools help families and schools align on a shared understanding of quality education by addressing [...]

At GCU, an organisation with literacy and sports departments, the power of book-sharing is set to make a meaningful impact in their literacy work. Having completed book-sharing training in October, the team is eager to begin implementing the programme in January 2025 and expand its horizons with book-sharing. While waiting for final logistics—such as the payment for books to be processed—the team reflects on their training experience and the exciting road ahead. A Unique Addition to Literacy Efforts Within GCU’s literacy division, the team already runs programs like Wordworks, which focuses on helping learners construct sentences, understand prefixes and suffixes, [...]

“My 3-year-old daughter is so clever! Just the other day, while we were looking at pictures in a book, she pointed to a dress and said, “This dress is like my mother’s dress.” I was so proud—she was making connections, linking things together. It amazed me to see her thinking that way.” Building Bonds Siya tells us, “Our connection is strong, and I think that bond is partly because I make an effort to understand and support her,” He goes on to say: “Growing up in the Eastern Cape was different from life now. Back then, discipline meant [...]

Nasiphi first learned about Mikhulu Trust from her Bishop at Lake Tiberias Church in Harare, Khayelitsha, who informed her about the book-sharing programme and invited her to join. Eager to explore this new way of connecting with children through stories, she began attending sessions on Saturdays. Initially, Nasiphi viewed a book-sharing journey simply as “sharing a book with a child,” but she quickly realised that it encompassed much more than she had anticipated. Learning Through a Book-Sharing Journey with Yamihle She started her book-sharing journey with her cousin’s daughter, Yamihle, who is three years old. Although they do [...]

Illiteracy in adults is more than just an inability to read or write; it’s a barrier that limits opportunities, diminishes self-esteem, and isolates individuals from the world around them. In South Africa, nearly 4 million adults still cannot read—a staggering number that highlights the deep-seated challenges many face. For parents, illiteracy can be particularly devastating, as it affects their ability to fully engage in their children's education and development. Simple tasks like reading a bedtime story, helping with homework, or understanding school communications become daunting obstacles. This lack of involvement can hinder a child’s early learning experiences and contribute to [...]

Parentline SA is an easy-to-use WhatsApp support platform offering comprehensive advice on parenting issues and challenges to parents throughout South Africa. Parents can easily join the user-friendly WhatsApp chat to receive instant access to parenting support, expert advice, and insights into the world of parenting. Currently focused on 0-6-year-old children, the support line, established by the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN), provides parents with a wealth of information and expertise. Caregivers and parents can engage with relatable scenarios and receive guidance on how they can handle various situations and challenges they may encounter, which may not be readily [...]

For the past two years, the Mikhulu Child Development Trust has been encouraging fathers to be more involved and present in their young children's lives through a specialised parenting programme for fathers called "Time with Dad" or "Ixesha lam noTata". This programme was developed from the original "Book-sharing for Families" initiative, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and Sonke Gender Justice. The Mikhulu Trust has partnered with various community-based organisations that work with fathers and has trained facilitators to organise group book-sharing sessions with men all over the Western Cape Province. While the Mikhulu Trust continues to [...]

The Mikhulu Child Development Trust has partnered with Nal’ibali, Macmillan Publishers and the Sunshine Association in an early literacy campaign called the Siyafunda Community Learning Hubs Project. Made possible through funding by USAID, the focus is on nurturing the early literacy foundations of very young children in the uMgungundlovu District of KZN and will strive to improve the early learning outcomes and school readiness of children from the local communities, setting them up well for when they learn to read and write at school. The activities will focus on supporting families, early childhood educators and other community members who engage [...]