Abacus, September 2007,
staff newspaper for the Absa Group
Liz
Hooper
Once
upon a time, not too long ago - in fact, it was just a
few months ago - a man who worked for a giant bank in
the big city went home after a busy day's work. He
wanted to spend time with his family and help his son
complete his homework.
It was
a simple task . . . something he'd done dozens of times
before . . . but this time something magical happened
that will change the lives of many of his fellow
countrymen and women, setting them off on a journey
filled with wonder and discovery.
That
man is Nicholas Young, chief financial officer of Alfie
Naidoo's new Retail Cluster. The initial spark of
curiosity that has since ignited into a burning passion,
was created when he noticed the worksheets his son had
from a British-based literacy project called THRASS.
The
programme is designed to help young learners develop
literacy skills and Nicholas was immediately intrigued.
After
some investigation, Nicholas discovered that THRASS
(Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills) is
the brainchild of British educational psychologist, Alan
Davies who developed the concept and has sold it to
educationalists in South Africa, the UK, Botswana and
the Caribbean.
What
if?
"That
got the wheels in my head turning," says Nicholas. He
began to ask some pertinent questions: What if this
programme was used to address the huge literacy gap in
South Africa? What if all kids in South Africa could be
effectively taught using THRASS? What if Absa got
involved and made it a reality?
And,
like any hero in a good story, Nicholas put his thinking
cap on, puffed out his chest and took action. He
presented the idea to Absa Retail Cluster Exco and
Corporate Social Investment.
"We
loved the concept as it has all the ingredients for a
winning formula, namely education, social development,
key partnerships and sustainability, meeting all the
Absa Foundation's required criteria," says Riah Phiyega,
Group executive: BEE, Government Relations and Corporate
Social Investment.
And so
the THRASS Absa TalkTogether Project was born.
"The
initiative's vision is to increase literacy and to help
improve the teaching and learning of English through the
THRASS programme in South Africa by establishing model
centres at selected schools with the support of
University Education faculties," says Alfie Naidoo,
executive director: Retail Cluster.
"In
addition, the project provides a platform to celebrate
South Africa's 11 national languages through free,
interactive software and printable calendar charts."
The
launch:
The programme was launched at the Roseneath Primary
School on 23 July. Its effectiveness and impact on
literacy training will be measured in studies to be
conducted by the Wits School of Education after which
the initiative will roll out in other areas.
Educators will not be left out. The THRASS Absa
TalkTogether Project will, in partnership with other
universities and teacher organisations such as the
National Professional Teachers Organisation of South
Africa (NAPTOSA), run a number of teacher-training
events.
But
what happened to the heroes of this story and the
compassionate companies they work for? They lived
happily ever after, secure in the knowledge that they
are part of something magical.
Source: Abacus
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