Butterfly Project
It takes a village to raise a child. So why not be apart of that village? There are so many simple ways you can get involved in helping our youth succeed in life.
Get involvedThe Butterfly Project is a transformational initiative aimed at young girls in Primary School. Pairing a Scholarship with mentorship and development opportunities the Butterfly Project aims to create an environment where young girls can realise their potential and equip them with the resources and opportunities needed to achieve that potential.
Beginning in the Foundation Phase of learning, the Butterfly Project aims to create solid foundations for holistic success in education as well as other areas of life. The Foundation phase is a significant education milestone that sets up a person for the rest of their educational journey by creating the foundation for literacy, numeracy, and thinking skills. In South Africa, a girl’s chance of completing school is about 30%, yet with input in the early years before Grade 4, research indicates the success rates increase dramatically. It is our hope to help improve these girls’ foundational skills so that they can succeed in school.
We currently have 15 girls in the program. Five in Grade R, five in Grade 1 and five in Grade 2. We meet with them twice a week focusing on development in literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, fine & gross motor skills, as well as growth in self-confidence and emotional resilience. We structure the time with them using themes such as dinosaurs, farming, Spring, African animals and water conservation. Within each theme we use a mixture of writing, drawing, songs, counting and games to touch on the key developmental aspects of foundation phase learning. We also read to them for a minimum of 20 minutes as studies show that children who are read to for 20 minutes a day score 15-20% higher in High School than children who have not been read to.
These girls come from very impoverished backgrounds, and so we also provide a scholarship for them that covers their school fees and other education-based expenses. We also give them a healthy snack and their own learning box, where they keep all of their stationery and supplies. We will continue to track these 15 girls through their primary school career, while also each year adding a new set of five girls from Grade R.
