Over the last few years, Roger Feder and Siya Kolisi have formed a special friendship, with the two sports icons having also bonded closely over their philanthropic endeavours.
In a clip shared to social media this week, Kolisi can be seen spending time with Federer at the Bushbuckridge village in Mpumalanga, where it appeared they were conducting a school visit at Salani Primary.
The short clip clearly showcases what a close friendship there is between Kolisi and Federer – whose mother was born in South Africa – with the rugby star even dropping in his Mzansi nickname for the Swiss tennis star, “MaRogisto”.
YOU CAN SEE THE CLIP OF SIYA KOLISI AND ROGER FEDERER SPENDING TIME TOGETHER BELOW:
School Readiness Initiative in South Africa
The main goal of the school readiness initiative of the Roger Federer Foundation that started in January 2019 is to provide vulnerable children with a good start into primary education through access to quality Grade R.
The Foundation has been active in South Africa since 2010. Its focus areas are the Provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. As stated above, the new initiative will focus on the transition phase from pre-school (Grade R) to primary school (Grade 1). A study commissioned by the Roger Federer Foundation found that in 2017, the number of children attending pre-schools was approximately half the number of children enrolled in Grade 1.
Furthermore, Grade R is not yet compulsory and Grade R teachers are poorly qualified and not employed by the state. Therefore, the initiative will not only focus on the children, but also on the schools that should be ready for their pupils.
For this, the program will increase the capacity of Grade R teachers, establish a peer-to-peer mentoring system, sensitize and engage relevant stakeholders such as school inspectors, principles, early grade teachers and parents to the children’s need in the phase of transition, and mobilize them to ensure that schools are in a better position to accommodate young learners.
A Child Monitoring Systems will track children’s development and respond to their individual needs in terms of language, numeracy, physical, socioemotional and cognitive development. The strategy supports the National Development Plan 2030 in providing a quality year before children enter Grade 1 as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 in ensuring that by 2030 all girls and boys are ready for primary school.
The board has approved a budget of CHF 7,200,000 for the initiative. Its main impact objectives are:
- Establishment of a child development monitoring system at pre-primary age
- Increase in children participating in organized learning at least one year before transitioning into primary school
- Increase in children who are developmentally on track at primary school entrance age
- Decrease of repetitions and drop-outs in lower grades at school
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS WHOLESOME INTERACTION AND INITIATIVE?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
