A volunteer's story, by Cherry Gammelin, our in- house reporter

Every day, Cheryl drives from her home in Kenilworth to the Observatory Primary school. She walks past the front office and heads for the crimson door above the courtyard. She finds her name tag and starts sifting through story books.“I never knew the story of Peter Pan before,” she says.“You see, I am learning too.”

She sets out a few games and waits. She is listening for the familiar sounds of light, hurried footsteps accompanied by laughing voices that will, at any moment, start echoing down the hall.“I also grew up underprivileged but I never had choices,” says Cheryl. “I was always told to keep quiet. Only when I was older did I start to get my own books and read. I know that the ability to read builds confidence and that is so important for these kids.”

Cheryl left school after grade 10 because no one could pay her fees. Using her own pocket money that she earned from working during the day, she was able to take evening classes. She finished her matric when she was twenty-one.

Cheryl spots Dean, her learning partner and guides him over to her table. He is quiet and hesitant to speak up, at first. After they play a word game, Cheryl asks the boy to help her with the names of different shapes in a book.“Will you help me learn these?” she asks Dean. The boy looks up at her, shocked. “You are supposed to be the teacher,” he says.“Ahh, you see sometimes I am the teacher and other times you are,” she says, winking at him. Dean’s solemn expression cracks and he smiles broadly.

After working as a secretary for twenty years, Cheryl ran a brewery. When she retired three years ago, she felt quite stagnant with no job to keep her busy and no children of her own. After hearing about Shine through a friend, Cheryl decided to go to an orientation.

“I was never interested in reading because no on drummed it into my head. No one encouraged me to read. We had a library but we weren’t forced to use it. It was very sad. Now, there’s Shine. Shine keeps these kids interested.”As the first literacy hour of the day winds down, Cheryl says goodbye to Dean. He hands her a square piece of paper and she begins to write down a note of praise.

“Must I draw a star here because you are one?” she asks Dean. A smile spreads across the shy little boy’s face.
He gives her a hug and she watches him file out of the room with the other children. “They love to come here, she says. They are truly hungry to learn.”