For many, the beating heart of Cape Town is the mountain and the inner city it cradles, or its postcard beaches. The Cape Flats, a place known for violence and struggle, exists on the margins. But what if we told you that here the true beating heart of Cape Town can be found? In the everyday actions of attention and care performed by ordinary women. Women who are writing a new narrative for their communities, and creating a new future for their children. Women who are testament to the wealth of talent, innovation, and love that can be found on the Flats.
They are the MathMoms - formerly unemployed community members whom we train to become mathematics tutors to foundation phase learners in their community. We partner with primary schools, using mathematics as a vehicle to arrive at safe, supportive, intergenerational community relationships. Our programme has three legs:
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Trauma support for Moms and learners
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Holistic training and opportunity creation for Moms
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Mathematics education through play
We believe that you cannot teach the mind before you reach the heart, and our trauma-informed approach to education equips the adults and children in our programme with practical tools to transform past traumas and process ongoing stress. This creates a safer learning environment, where learners receive individual attention and support while gaining confidence in maths through play. We are building confident communities, one maths empowered child at a time.
Every day acts of kindness and community care can bring incredible change in schools, communities, and families.