Themba's latest report on parent workshops

I received a thorough report from Themba last week about the latest parent workshop. Themba joined us recently to work on the Outreach part of our programme. He is busy helping us set up book clubs and parent workshops in the communities. This is just a short extract from his latest feedback:

'Out of 100 parents who confirmed their attendance, only 29 parents arrived on the day. This was very disappointing to all of us, yet we did not let this get in the way of us facilitating a great workshop. The small turnout meant that we could have an intimate interaction with the parents and take part in discussions with them. I was able to communicate to them just how crucial it is to get to know the teacher of their child and not to wait until the child is under-performing at school before making contact.

Many of the parents we work with and meet at these workshops have themselves not had a good education. No one read to them as children and supported them beyond sending them to school. They all want to see their children do well and have access to opportunities they themselves have never had. Our workshops enable us to engage with them without judgment and help them to see opportunities that lie ahead.

We reflected (later) about how lucky we are to do the work that we do, and to have had the opportunity to be part of the conversation.  And seeing parents take ownership of the workshop was beyond anything we could have asked for!'    Themba Tshabalala