It’s back to school for hundreds of parents from Lavender Hill as the Hopeful Leaders Night School is set open next term.
The initiative started by single mom and community activist Yumna Alexander was first launched in Manenberg in 2020 with the aim of equipping parents who were unable to complete their matric due to socio-economic issues.
In just four years Alexander has grown her project to six schools in various communities across Cape Town including Manenberg, Hanover Park, Bonteheuwel, Delft and now Lavender Hill.
Speaking to the Weekend Argus, Alexander said that while the night school has gained momentum in recent years, the community of Lavender Hill remained a burning issue.
“Whenever you read the news about Lavender Hill all you see is that someone was shot or a child was killed as the gang violence rages out of control. I thought a lot about Lavender Hill and we gauge on what we see on our social media pages. So I got up and approached the principal of Lavender Hill High School about the initiative.
“He took the proposal to the school governing body and they agreed to the project and we will officially start enrolment in August.”
She explained that among the requirements for students is that they must be aged 20 years or older and have completed Grade 9. Enrolment costs just R50 and learners will receive classes for just R15 which goes towards fuel and printing costs.
“We have volunteer teachers from Lavender Hill, Grassy Park and Strandfontein who have signed up so the cost of R15 only goes towards their fuel and printing costs for classes.
“We will be offering maths literacy, English, Afrikaans, geography, history and religion studies.”
Alexander says the school currently has over 1 200 students enrolled for the 2024 academic year and they are hard at work preparing for the next exams.
“Hopeful Leaders is about bringing hope of education. Many of our people suffer because they did not have an actual shot at getting a proper education due to socio-economic circumstances, but this is that opportunity.
“We set out to bring hope and that is our hope for Lavender Hill: That we can inspire parents to be all they want to be and improve the prospects of themselves and their children.”
For more information send a WhatsApp to 073 903 7616.
