CONTACT THEISSUE ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE: 20 | JUNE 2017
ISSUE 20 | JUNE 2017
Tel: +27 21 959 2143 | Fax: 021 959 9791 Email: alumni@uwc.ac.za | www.uwc.ac.za/alumni http://twitter.com/UWConline http://www.facebook.com/uwcalumni
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Pictured, from left: Catherine Joubert, Gloria Samson, Dr Karen Collett and Tayala Afrika.
Researcher helps women realise their dreams
T
wo young women from Wellington have become the first in their families to pursue studies at a university, thanks to the commitment and generosity of two remarkable educators. Their story began when Dr Karen Collett, a researcher in the Faculty of Education at UWC, collaborated with a funding partner and retired Groenberg Primary School principal, Gloria Samson, in the Teacher Well-Being (TWB) project. The TWB was initiated in Wellington to help teachers cope with their particular challenges. Teachers felt demoralised by the then low achievement levels of learners and the high number of learners with language and learning barriers that required additional support. The staff at Groenberg Primary School and three other nearby schools identified a homework and
study club as a strategy to improve learners’ academic results and build a stronger supportive relationship between learners, teachers and parents/guardians. “Groenberg Primary School was one of the four schools we worked with,” Dr Collett explains. “But because of Mrs Samson’s passion and love for teaching, they started a homework club at the school catering for all the children in the area, aimed at improving learners’ academic results. The homework club focused on supporting the learners, as their parents were often unable to assist them with their homework tasks.” Catherine Joubert and her childhood friend Tayala Afrika attended the homework club while they were in high school. The TWB provided support and financial backing to help Joubert and Afrika complete their schooling. After matriculating, Joubert found work in a road construction crew. Whenever her Grade 1 teacher passed her
while she was working, waving her flag to regulate the traffic, she would drop her gaze, ashamed. Joubert and Afrika returned to the TWB project as volunteers, helping learners find solutions for themselves. The TWB then decided to assist them to further their studies at the Wellington campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Emulating their role models, they are pursuing their dream of becoming teachers. The project will help the two students by funding fees, textbooks, accommodation and a stipend of R1 000 a month. The funder has also agreed to support Dr Collett with funding to research the value of homework/ study clubs in supporting learner achievement and retention in schools. Afrika says, “This journey is very exciting for both of us because Mrs Samson connected us with people who want to see us succeed and break the chain of poverty in our families.”
www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 1