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| Questions |
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1. What
does The Kusasa Project do?
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We provide a
variety of programs and activities, via our volunteers
and small team, to disadvantaged children, both
in schools and outside of the schools, to give assistance
to schools and to offer activities which schools
can’t.
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2. Are
you running a school or schools?
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NO. We work WITH
the schools and also independently, depending on
the programs. Because the schools resources are
so limited, we try to augment what they do and provide
other activities beyond what they can provide.
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3. What
sorts of activities?
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Some very simple
ones, like having volunteers read stories in classes,
to more complicated ones like feeding 700 kids breakfast.
In between, we fund literacy programs, run fun clubs
like chess, art and drama, do a lot of transporting
of kids around to activities (transport is a big
problem in South Africa!) provide scholarships to
more highly functioning schools, help with homework,
run football tournaments and take kids on field
trips to open them up to the wider world.
We also try to help local crèches with equipment,
food and generate local contacts to assist them.
We’ve bought uniforms for a whole school, provided
fleeces to 350 children, supplied football boots,
connected volunteers who were looking for a way
to help and generally raised awareness about the
fantastic kids who weren’t looking for handouts
but looking for a hand up.
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4. Don’t
the schools or municipalities provide what you are
providing?
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They try, but
don’t have the resources nor properly trained staff
to do so. We are filling a gap that is well known
– South Africa has a shortage of 25,000 teachers
and in rural schools, literacy rates below 25%!
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5. How
old are the kids you work with?
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Most are between
5 and 13, but some are younger and some older. Our
focus is Primary Schools. We often utilize the older
kids who have been assisted or inspired by The Kusasa
Project to come volunteer to help in our programs
and activities.
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6. Are you trying to help only the brightest kids?
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NO. We are trying to help as many kids as possible
with the resources we have. We do big programs,
like the Breakfast Club, and our Literacy For All
programs to reach big numbers, but also recognize
that one of the major problems the kids have is
very little personal or small group attention. Therefore,
we try to run our clubs on a 10-15 kid basis. We
DO try to identify particularly bright or talented
kids and give guidance on where they can go for
more resources.
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7. What is the home language of the kids you
work with?
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The 2 main languages are Xhosa and Afrikaans.
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8. How many schools do you work with?
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We work with 6 schools regularly, 4 on an
intensive/daily basis and 2 others less
frequently.
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9. How did you get involved with the schools?
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We were invited in. After beginning with
Dalubuhle School – simply offering to help with
reading – we expanded our activities as the
school requested and as we gained volunteers. As
other schools heard that we were interested in
helping, they asked us to come in. Relationships
with the staff and administration were built and
we agreed on programs for each school.
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10. Do you only work with the poor schools?
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No. In fact, we have a strong relationship
with Bridge House School - private school in the
Franschhoek Valley, forging sporting links,
offering BH children the opportunity to reach
out and assist younger children with reading,
and encouraging the breaking of cultural
barriers. It is a sad fact of South African
society that races and economic classes have
been kept apart. We believe that a strong future
is built on breaking such barriers and having
kids work and interact together as equals is a
key to making this future a reality.
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11. How many people work for KUSASA?
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We only have 2 full-time employees and 1
educational specialist whom we contract to
assist us. It’s a massive task for these people
and thus makes us be very selective in starting
a new program, as we aim to underpromise and
overdeliver. Between 40-60 volunteers also make
this all happen. Our trustees and founders are
100% volunteer and have provided considerable
funding to get The Kusasa Project started.
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12. How do you find volunteers?
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Word of mouth and through other volunteers.
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13. How are you funded?
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We are funded primarily through individual
donations from family, friends, schools in the
UK & Sweden who have taken an interest, local &
international individuals, former and present
work colleagues, via fundraisers in the
community and by visitors to the Winelands who
have been touched by the children they have met.
We also have 2 corporate donors who have
provided targeted donations for our Literacy for
All program and our Chello Scholars. Fundraising
is a regular need for us.
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14. Are you an official charity in South Africa,
the UK or the US?
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We are a South African Charitable Trust,
have a UK Charities Commission Registration (The
Kusasa Project UK) and are affiliated with
KidsForce International (a 501c-3 organization)
in the US. Therefore any donations in those
currencies are tax deductible for those tax
payers.
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15. Are you linked with any schools around the
World?
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We have a great link with IES Bromma, a
school in Sweden, who have provided us with our
minibus and partly fund our staff. Downside
Middle School on the Isle of Wight has been a
wonderful supporter with funds and
teacher/volunteers. Yardley Court School in
Kent, UK has recently become a supporting school
and is working to grow these ties.
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16. What are your greatest needs?
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Regular volunteers for reading and after
school clubs. Funding for our programs,
materials, transport, food, computers. Venues
for clubs & afterschool study. Support for
skilled teachers and specialists. Moral support!
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The Kusasa Project, is an organization
whose primary focus is to fill a gap in a broken
educational system in order to provide hope for
the future for these most wonderful of kids.
The Kusasa Project seeks to address the problem
of education by
direct intervention & engagement. |
