Starting Chance

Our numeracy workshops have been so special, productive and fun for everyone involved! Thanks so much to all the teachers and learners that have attended and to our team for running them. Learning through play is so powerful. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored our workshops so far ❤️

Please help us fill our bookshelves before our Mandela Day numeracy day event this Saturday ❤️ Thanks Hero in my Hood story activity books ❤️

Our Mandela day sponsorship for Starting Chance is up to 394 books sponsored so far - thank you to our fabulous sponsors! ❤💛💙
We have until an event Starting Chance are hosting in Mfuleni on this Saturday 27th July - lets see if we can fill up their bookshelf!

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela

Colouring books are @15 each and will go to Starting Chance, a non-profit Public Benefit Organisation that is passionate about education and in particular Early Childhood Development (ECD).
You can sponsor via our website: https://www.hero-in-my-hood.co.za/.../mandela-day.../
or EFT:
Name: Hero in my Hood
Bank: First National Bank
Account number: 627 043 757 41
Branch: Kenilworth Centre
Branch code: 210046
Account type: Business cheque/current account
SWIFT code for international payments: FIRNZAJJ
Please send POP to [email protected]

80% of grade 6 mathematics learners were taught by teachers with mathematics subject knowledge below the grade 6 level. (Oppenheimer Report)

Solving South Africa's education crisis leans largely on giving our teachers every opportunity grow. Soon, there'll be a massive teacher gap, as the current 'cohort' retires. There's a huge shortage of emerging teachers to replace them. We need more incentives for teaching qualifications and recognition of teacher excellence.

Our teachers are this nation's heroes and we should celebrate and compensate them as such. Starting Chance is proud to work with passionate, exceptional educators with a heart calling to change this country. ❤️

Foundation phase is when the building blocks of numeracy are instilled. It's pivotal to give learners the best starting chance in maths and STEM subjects to set them up for a life of purpose and prosperity.

Now's our moment to be the change we want to see.

Please sponsor our building blocks for numeracy workshops and maths kits this .

www.startingchance.org.za/take-action

Thanks Mzansi for your incredible generosity so far! 211 books donated already. Please help us fill up our bookshelves ❤️

Thank you again to Hero in my Hood story activity books for your generosity and support.

THANK YOU!! Our Mandela day sponsorship for Starting Chance has got off to a great start with 211 books sponsored so far - thank you! Come on guys! Let's see if we can fill up their bookshelf! ❤💛💙
Colouring books are @15 each and will go to Starting Chance, a non-profit Public Benefit Organisation that is passionate about education and in particular Early Childhood Development (ECD).
You can sponsor via our website: https://www.hero-in-my-hood.co.za/be-a-hero/mandela-day-partnership/
or EFT:
Name: Hero in my Hood
Bank: First National Bank
Account number: 627 043 757 41
Branch: Kenilworth Centre
Branch code: 210046
Account type: Business cheque/current account
SWIFT code for international payments: FIRNZAJJ

Please send POP to [email protected]

The gender gap: Boys are falling behind: In 2023, 60 000 fewer boys than girls wrote the matric maths exam, due to the boys dropping out of school or being prevented from writing by schools protecting their pass rate. (Claire Bisseker)

Ripples turn into tides. Let's change the face of numeracy in South Africa to offer excellent, inclusive foundational maths education to everyone.

Please consider sponsoring our workshops for

www.startingchance.org.za/take-action

We're losing ao many young people along the school journey. And schools often prevent matrics from writing to 'protect' their pass rates. The situation is dire when you consider South Africa's critical dearth of STEM skills.

The time for change is now.

Please help us instil the building blocks of numeracy this . Well be running numeracy focused workshops for our teachers, principals and parents.

www.startingchance.org.za/take-action

Strong foundational numeracy sets children up for socio-economic inclusion and a life of purpose and fulfilment. This year, for , we are pouring everything into empowering our teachers, principals and parents to give learners the best start in maths literacy.

We're hosting a series of workshops and creating numeracy kits for best practice teaching in ECD phase. We can turn South Africa's dismal maths performance around. It'll take collective will and collaboration. But it is possible and it must be done.

Over the next few days, we'll be sharing alarming statistics on where the country's maths is at currently. It's time for change. It's time to instil robust numeracy building blocks. For our children. And future generations.

Let's be the change we want to see.

Please consider donating to help us.

www.startingchance.org.za/take-action

We are so grateful to Hero in my Hood story activity books for partnering with us this , with this incredible initiative. Hero in My Hood makes phenomenal educational books for little learners and, this year, they've pledged to match every book donated to Starting Chance schools

Need something to do for this Mandela Day? Well, we got you!

We are very pleased to announce that this we are partnering with Starting Chance to get our colouring books into their EDC classes ❤💛💙
We are asking you if you could sponsor a book , for each book you sponsor we will donate an additional one!

We have already donated 67 of Lucky's colouring book, and 67 Plastic Pollution colouring books thanks to Moni & Felix's generous sponsorship - thanks!

You can sponsor books on our website here: https://www.hero-in-my-hood.co.za/be-a-hero/mandela-day-partnership/
or make an EFT :
Name: Hero in my Hood
Bank: First National Bank
Account number: 627 043 757 41
Branch: Kenilworth Centre
Branch code: 210046
Account type: Business cheque/current account
SWIFT code for international payments: FIRNZAJJ

Please send POP to [email protected]

To view the colouring books visit our website:
https://www.hero-in-my-hood.co.za/luckys-colouring-book/

https://www.hero-in-my-hood.co.za/our-plastic-pollution-colouring-book/

Our country is sitting on a bellwether moment of Youth Unemployment rising to a critical +60%. Youth employment starts with addressing youth employability, which, of course, comes back to equal education and opportunities for all. Starting Chance is steadfastly committed to giving our children the chance they deserve for a full and fulfilled life.

In a nation known for absent fathers, where many women are the single heads of the household, we honour the dads who show up, share the care, and set an example of what fatherhood and masculinity should look like.

We're continuing to focus on numeracy as our major project for the year. South Africa had the 3rd lowest maths score out of 64 countries at primary school level in the latest TIMMS. To address this, we're focusing on the basic building blocks of numeracy from birth to Grade R, through focused workshops and kits for our schools. Help us give children the very best starting chance in life and numeracy.

This year, one of our biggest goals is to focus on upskilling our schools in teaching numeracy in fun, foundational, accessible ways. We're running a series of workshops targetted at teachers, principals and parents to amplify maths literacy in the classroom and at home. Help us give children the best possible start in numeracy. Please consider sponsoring our workshops here: www.startingchance.org.za/take-action ❤️

This we honour all the daycares and schools caring for kids in our most vulnerable communities. Tangram is one such school which does incredible work making education accessible to autistic children in Mfuleni and surrounds. We're proud to be part of its journey. ❤️

Happy for yesterday. Moms move mountains. The cornerstone of communities, homes, economies and education. Often the single head of the home and sole breadwinner, juggling myriad jobs while caring for their families. They carry so much of their shoulders. They are chronically undervalued and often undersupported. They bring life and lead with love. We honour them today, and every day. ❤️

Nelson Mandela said being free means living in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. We can think of no better way to honour this than to respect and advance children's right to a quality education. Education brings freedom - physical and psychological.

We had the most amazing messy play session with some of our learners, principals and fieldworkers, generously donated by .messyhub. Our littles were spellbound for nearly an hour as Ashley and Blessing exposed them to developmental sensory play that also taught our team so much! Thank you Ashley and Blessing - you truly are an enormous blessing and we're so grateful for your care, expertise and support ❤️

41% of surveyed South African homes own just 10 books - or less. Last year, our Foundations for Literacy campaign saw us donate over 4000 books to children and their families across Mfuleni. This , we're encouraging our parents and teachers to spend time reading out loud with their little learners to foster a deep love for reading and all the worlds books can open.

We'd also like to thank for their incredibly generous book donation for our learners 📚 They do incredible work creating lifelong readers by making books available in all 11 languages 📚

Meet Tandeka Tomsana, our Starting Chance fieldworker. She says, "I enjoy leading our school reps and facilitating parent workshops. I'm looking forward to facilitating my own Training Teachers in Townships workshop one day." She's a cornerstone member of our team and we value her tremendously!

Yesterday was ! Art is pivotal for learning, self-expression, creativity and abstract throught. It's a major focus for our ECDs, which integrate craft and art lessons into their weekly programmes. Here are some of our little artists in action.

South Africa is known to have some of the worst maths results in the world. 80% of grade 6 mathematics learners are taught by teachers with mathematics subject knowledge below the grade 6 level. Foundational maths starts in foundation phase. We're focusing on Building Blocks for Numeracy for Mandela Day this year, to upskil our teachers and parents in how to teach critical maths concepts through play.

Meet Bulelani, our new Miracle Maker and head of our fieldworker team. He joined us this year from Nal'ibali and has already been making miracles happen with his vision and leadership. We're privileged to have him join us on this journey, and we're excited for everything to come.

Yesterday was World Autism (ASD) Day. Tangram Academy recently joined the Starting Chance Programme and specialises in caring for and educating children with ASD. To celebrate World Autism Day, the principal took 50 children with ASD from her community to the cinema - for many kids, it was their first time.

Sadly for many children diagnosed with ASD living in low-income communities help frequently comes too late in their childhood to positively influence the ASD trajectory. Having experienced the difficulty of finding help for her own autistic son the Tangram principal specialises in providing early years support and stimulation for young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She understands how vital the early years are for a child with ASD.

This month Starting Chance will renovate the garage-based facility in readiness for the coming Cape Winter and to begin secure Tangram's future with local regulators. Our aim is to work with the principal to transform Tangram into a much needed, locally lead, well-equipped Centre of Excellence for Young Children with ASD. Tangram currently accommodates only 17 children. The next step will be expand the facility to a capacity of 35 in small-group classrooms. As we do this we will be building and developing the capability of the Tangram team in readiness to move to a facility with a capacity of 60 plus children. If you would like to learn more please get in touch.

A blessed Easter to all those celebrating. May it be a beautiful long weekend with family and friends.

Happy New Year! Here's to another beautiful year of working together to change children's lives and educational outcomes. Here's to 2024. 🥳

#2024

Wishing everyone a wonderful festive season, from our Starting Chance family to yours. 🎄

Our little learners are done with school for the year and ready for the holidays! Well done to each and every one of you ❤️ It's been our privilege to see you grow and flourish this year. Congratulations to the principals, teachers and fieldworkers who work tirelessly to give every child the best possible start in life.

We are so thankful to everyone who has supported Starting Chance this year. Thank you for giving 1000s of learners and teachers the chance to flourish and thrive. We could not do it without you. Together, we can change children's lives and the narrative of our nation. ❤️

Today, we're doing our last round of Santa parties for another 400 special little learners. By the end of this week, we'll have done parties and presents for 1 000 children across all the schools we work with in Mfuleni. What a wonderful time it has been! Thanks so much to the donors who made it possible and to our team of elves who worked tirelessly. You've made so many little children's dreams come true this season of giving

Overwhelmed by these kind words from our fieldworkers and the principals we work with. We are so privileged to partner with such incredible, supportive women. We're grateful for everyone who is walking this journey with us and helping us to change children's lives.