Talk about the challenges South Africa faces, and discussion quickly turns to edu­ca­tion. And sure, it is true that the school system is not what it should be, with Covid recently making things even tougher.

In Knysna, we don’t believe that any of this should cause despair. Just the opposite – together with school heads, teachers, learners, and communities, we have again been able to show that supporting education to empower young people is possible even under challenging circum­stances.

Our 2021 Annual Report, gives details on the 20 projects across all 17 schools in the district we support. Besides infrastructure upgrades, security and Covid support, KILT helps Knysna’s learners better prepare for the future through projects aimed at improving  literacy for better comprehension, food gardens supplementing feeding schemes to grappling with the future of technology for teachers and for learners in Lego Robotics classes.

 

Some highlights of the report

The report shows that KILT

• sponsors 124 posts, one in seven in the Knysna District
• sponsored posts reduce the average pupil to teacher ratio by 15% to 30:1
• projects benefit 70% of Knysna school children

KILT’s core focus is the children in our district, as our Annual Report illustrates:

• 10 943 learners were supported
• 15 of 20 projects focussed on learners
• 730 learners accessed group counselling
• 694 learners registered for the afterschool study club
• 309 076 meals were provided with the help of seven food gardens
• 178 learners were supported in their search for post school qualifications
• another 34 were helped to find university bursaries

 

School teachers and leaders

None of this would be possible without the dedication and ongoing commitment of Knysna’s teachers and school heads:

• 68% of educators participated in our teacher development programs
• the Remedial Program supported 130 primary school teachers
• this is expanding into high schools in 2022
• leadership development courses help school heads and senior staff manage their schools better

Other programs assist communities with

• food from school gardens to supplement the school feeding scheme
• 20 soup kitchens
• support and assistance for parents

 

Many ordinary Knysna citizens have joined hands with local businesses and individuals as well as companies from further afield to support KILT. You too can support KILT in many ways:

• ONE-OFF OR REGULAR DONATIONS
• MAKE A BEQUEST
• TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT OUR WORK
• GET IN TOUCH: info@kilt.org.za / +27(0) 44 382 7508