At Africa!Ignite we believe in and support lifelong learning. Building on what people know and can do, we introduce up-to-date, research-based content in our training and mentoring.

2013-2019 STORYTELLING TO PROMOTE A LOVE OF BOOKS

We used storytelling to ignite a love of books and reading in young children in 80 municipal libraries a year across KwaZulu-Natal. Our storytellers erected colourful story tents, told stories and played fun education games, reaching more than 74,500 children over 5 years.

2016-2020 EARLY LITERACY AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Our Siyafunda, siyabhala, siyaxoxa izindaba project (Telling stories, reading, writing project) team works in 18 schools and ECD centres in Umhlabuyalingana Municipality, northern KwaZulu-Natal. We train Foundation Phase teachers, ECD practitioners and parents in language development, storytelling and early literacy. Our early literacy facilitators combine their storytelling skills with an understanding of how young children learn to read and write.

Rural youth can play a valuable role in promoting early literacy. Our literacy facilitators assist Foundation Phase teachers in their classrooms, where they show that children learn best in a fun and supportive atmosphere, with structured, story-based activities using materials based on the latest research. These youth are role models for young learners and inspire teachers with new, effective teaching methods.

2018-2020 OUR HEALTH IS IN OUR HANDS

By making positive lifestyle choices that protect against chronic diseases women can improve their own quality of life and impact the wellbeing of their families and communities. Our workshop programme My Health is in My Hands aims to motivate and educate mainly women (but also men) to adopt five positive practices to improve their health. We use the image of the five fingers on our hand to highlight: healthy eating; exercising; keeping weight down; not smoking; and limiting or not drinking alcohol. Participants gain basic nutritional knowledge and learn how to set goals to address risk-factors associated with lifestyle diseases.