A group of enthusiastic volunteers aiming to help Cape Flats parents achieve their dreams of attaining matric have opened their fifth night school this week.
After years of hard work and dedication, the team of the Hopeful Leaders Night School have now opened their doors in Bishop Lavis, and parents across the Cape Flats are set to attend classes as of next week.
The initiative, started by single mom and community activist Yumna Alexander, was first launched in Manenberg in 2020 with the aim of helping parents who were unable to complete their matric.
In just two years, Alexander has grown her project to five schools in Manenberg, Hanover Park, Bonteheuwel, Delft and now Bishop Lavis.
Alexander says after the night school opened at Rosendaal High in Delft last year, she passed Bishop Lavis and had a dream of opening a school there.
“Every time I would drive from Delft, I would drive past Bishop Lavis and would look at the community and the flats and think to myself, ‘we must open a school here’,” she explains.
“Before I went on Umrah, I went to Nooitgedacht Primary School without an appointment and knocked on the principal’s door.
“There I found a man who is passionate about education and community development. We spoke about what we could do and he immediately agreed.”
Over the past week, eager parents have been lining up to sign up to complete their matric.
“The classes are starting on February 6 and so far we have 76 students signed up,” Alexander wyses.
“In the crowd, we found an oupa who told us he wrote matric 40 years ago. He failed and he was so excited for the opportunity to try again.
“We are offering English, Afrikaans, business studies, history and religion studies. Classes are from Monday to Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm.
“Each class is only R15 and this goes towards running costs as all our teachers are qualified volunteers,” she adds.
If you would like to register for a class, visit the Hopeful Leaders Night School page on Facebook.
Teachers who would like to volunteer can email [email protected].