After being able to help hundreds of children in the Kouga region with learning difficulties during her first holiday programme, Hazel Booysen, who is the founder of Tutor Spot, a homework centre in Hankey, is planning to host the next programme from October 3 to 7 in Patensie.
As previously reported by the Kouga Express, in 2019, Booysen began helping children in Hankey with their homework and school projects in an informal structure in her backyard.
She then went on to establish a homework centre for school children and with help from fund-raising efforts she was recently able to refurbish the centre to better serve the community.
Despite her efforts, Booysen realised that more children needed help with various learning difficulties but since school classrooms were overcrowded teachers often found it difficult to identify learners who needed extra help.
To combat this issue, she hosted her first holiday club during the school holidays from July 11 to 15 at Volkskerk van Afrika in Hankey.
“Education is the most important part of a child’s life and if they are not assisted in the things they struggle with at school, then it is an unbearable process for them to deal with. Therefore, I want to make sure they get the needed help to make learning easier for them,” said Booysen.
During the week-long holiday programme, at least three teachers and eight facilitators from local schools assisted Booysen to ensure each session was a success.
She said the number of children at each session differed from day to day, with the highest number of children present on one day amounting to 120.
“We helped the children with all the difficulties they face at school such as reading, mathematics, and economics.
“We also played educational games to help them improve their listening and concentration skills,” said Booysen.
“We can thank God that the holiday programme was a success.”
With help from generous donors, Booysen said that they ensured that each child had a meal to eat, and they were able to work well with those in attendance.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped with donations, making it possible to feed all the children. May God bless everyone and their businesses abundantly,” said Booysen.
To help as many children as possible she said that she plans to offer the programme on a permanent basis during the school holidays to help children from her community and surrounding areas.
“Our hearts burn to make a difference in the lives of each child,” said Booysen.
She further said that she hoped more children would join the next programme and that local businesses would consider sponsoring their programme.
“My heart’s desire is to give each child what they deserve but I am not able to do this on my own, I need the help of my community,” said Booysen.
The next holiday club will take place from October 3-7 in Patensie.
Fortunately, Booysen’s hard work has not gone unnoticed, as she was nominated for the Kouga Municipality’s Power(ful) Woman last month.
She said she was thankful to her community for the nomination as it was an amazing experience.
- For more information or to contribute to the holiday programme contact Hazel Booysen on 083 370 6082.
