Rise Above Development (RAD) hosted an information session to discuss “the learner at risk”, on Tuesday April 1.

The meeting aimed to invite all key stakeholders, including educators, school governing bodies, faith leaders, SAPS, community organisations, parents and counsellors to brainstorm ideas on how to help the “learner at risk”.

Lameez Rabbaney, principal of Prince George Primary School in Lavender Hill, said the purpose of the engagement with like-minded organisations was to foster a shared vision of collective participation in supporting at-risk youth.

“The goal must be to introduce our learners at risk to alternatives to the activities that led to their suspension. We will be able to introduce them to valuable skills and opportunities, for example, teaching the learner to read or read with understanding, learning the Khoisan language, gardening, as well as catching up on work that the learner has missed due to their transgressions.

“Additionally, the engagement sought to clarify the process that needs to be followed before any learner who has been suspended is allowed on the grounds of RAD. This process emphasises the importance of collaboration and a clear protocol for helping suspended learners successfully transition into more productive pathways.”

Michelle Ubsdell, director of the International Community Empowerment, a non-profit company that focuses on children's education, said they partnered with RAD to teach the vulnerable children how to read.

“We’ve discovered that quite a number of children are not at school, and for the last year, we have been teaching a young child from Vrygrond who is now 16 years old, and we got him to about Grade 3 level. We also have had parents asking us to assist their children who, for various reasons, are not at school. They have Grade 1 and Grade 2 education, and they need to be able to read and write. So, our goal is to get them on a level where they get to learn a skill of some kind.

Ms Ubsdell said they are in the process of running a programme for children at RAD who are not in school to “help them with literacy and numeracy and in the afternoons we are going to help children with a literacy programme for children who are in school but who cannot read properly”.

Ms Ubsdell said, “Our aim is to keep children safe, fed and educated because if you don’t have any education you cannot simply work. Hopefully, our relationship with RAD will grow, and we will be able to help these children that are at risk."

Ms Ubsdell said they also help youth between the ages of 16 and 21 to realise their dreams. For example, if they want to become a ballet dancer, they would help them get a scholarship.

There will be a follow-up meeting on Friday May 9, where all stakeholders will come together and look for solutions on how to eradicate the bad behaviours of learners at risk.

For more information, email malany@riseabovedevelopment.org