Molo Mhlaba was established in 2018, as a response to some of the challenges experienced while the organisation was offering an educational STEM support programme to girls in Khayelitsha.
The name of the school was derived from the first computer code written in the University Computer Science degree programme which is ‘Hello Earth/World’.
According to the Founders of the Molo Mhlaba School, the school's name is also a fitting translation given its emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).
“We noticed that the education that is currently being offered through schools in townships does not respond to the challenges that are faced by a girl child and the fact they are groomed to nurture at a very young age, i.e. taking care of a young sibling and doing household chores,” shared the Co-founder and Director Molo Mhlaba Schools, Rethabile Mashale-Sonibare in an interview with Careers Portal.
Additionally, this organisation's efforts were also to introduce efforts to respond to period poverty, teach young girls about adequate reproductive health, how to minimise teenage pregnancy specifically primary school-going children, and also to retain children in the school system.
According to a report by Statistics South Africa, close to 3% of 15-year-olds and nearly 9% of 17-year-olds dropped out of school in 2021.
Research has revealed that in 2010, 1.1 million pupils enrolled for grade 1, and only 755 981 learners were enrolled for their National Senior Certificate in 2022.
Sonibare is of the opinion that it is mostly female learners who are affected by the learner dropout phenomenon, pointing out that research ought to be done to dig a bit deeper to gain further insight into who is dropping out.
The school has integrated the six Montessori pillars throughout its classrooms, teaching learners to take care of themselves, the environment, and each other.
According to New Jersey-based, Montessori Learning Centre and Day Care, children gain concentration, attention to detail, language, and fine motor skills.
As the school has explored and taken other school curricula into consideration, but they went for Montessori education because it fosters resilience, and also being mindful of the inherent skills that girls need when they return home after a school day.
Five years into the school’s development, Molo Mhlaba has two existing school campuses and a third one is in its construction phase at the moment.
“We need to democratise Montessori Education and make it affordable,” added Sonibare.
For the school to be sustainable, it relies on being a fee-paying school, and a partial subsidy from the Western Cape Education Department which covers up to 60% of the Molo Mhlaba’s cost per year.
If you’d like to pay it forward to the Molo Mhlaba School’s building project, you may do so by clicking on the link to the GoFundMe page for donations.
The school also welcomes donations in the form of sponsoring a child’s tuition fees, skills, books, stationery, and also musical instruments.
To arrange your donation and collection, you may send an email to the school at [email protected].
