AGRU Academy Cape Town

Our fears have been confirmed: The AGRU Academy unfortunately had to move out of the school building we found only at the end of last year. Due to the ongoing lockdown, we have been unable to raise sufficient funds to cover the outstanding rent payments. But Tendai is not giving up and has already found a new location. Currently, classes are held in a large hall (about 100 square meters) in Midland. The classes are all taught together at the same time in this one large room. Since there is no room separation of any kind, chairs serve to separate the “classrooms.”

The new rent is 5,000 rand per month (300 euros).

In addition, Tendai has taken in an orphan child who needs special help during the pandemic.

The churches are closed for the most part. The ones that are open are only allowed 50 people. This makes it difficult to collect donations through the churches.

Currently, only 46 students are still being taught. The rest of the children were distributed to other schools as far as possible. There are currently, besides Tendai, only five teachers left. The others had to find paid work to support their families.

98 out of 100 AGRU students passed the annual tests

Despite all the difficulties during the pandemic, only two out of 100 children did not make it to the next grade. This shows that we are on the right track and that our commitment and donations are bearing fruit. But Tenai herself said that it was also the mental support and encouragement from the donors that helped her through the difficult time, and without this sense of community, she would have given up long ago.

Education is also a weapon in the fight against Corona

Corona vaccination is progressing extremely slowly in South Africa. Due to the low level of education in large parts of the population, many people are sceptical about the vaccines that are probably readily available by now. Social media feeds these fears. People’s mindset, surprisingly, seems to be the bigger problem.

Especially against this background, it is all the more important to support institutions like the AGRU Academy. Only better education for the children will improve the future of the people and the country.

It is not clear at this time how long the lockdown will last. The building where classes are currently held on a makeshift basis is only a stopgap solution. The old school building has not yet been sublet. But that requires substantial funding….

In the short term, we are tackling the problems pragmatically: What is urgently needed now is a mobile Paravent solution to somehow make lessons possible for the remaining children.

Your donation of only 1,50 Euro makes a lesson for disadvantaged children possible.

Here you can easily donate – both one-time and recurring and using various payment methods. A donation receipt is available through our partner Kinderhilfswerk Dritte Welt e. V..

Please support our commitment to AGRU – every Euro counts!

The pandemic hits the poorest especially hard – let’s help where our help is needed most

The Corona crisis has greatly increased the willingness to support local aid projects. Unfortunately, this means that where the effects of the pandemic are most severe, hardly any donations (e.g. from local churches) arrive. Let us now think of the people who need us most.

South Africa is currently experiencing devastating effects of the Corona crisis. The country was already in recession before the Corona crisis broke out. Now poverty has risen dramatically in just a few weeks. The AGRU Academy in Cape Town offers new prosepcts for disadvantaged children between the ages of 5 and 18. Here, about one hundred refugee children receive a quality education under the guidance of Tendai Gurumani. The school is mainly financed by private donations and collections from local churches, which unfortunately are almost completely absent due to the Corona pandemic.

A real school for refugee children

Right now, there is a ray of hope: the school has found a suitable building that can become a real home. Unlike the previous barracks, this is a real school building with classrooms, schoolyard, a kitchen and toilets. This is a dream come true for the school family – but it stands on shaky ground: The financing has not been clarified.

For deposit, equipment and the further rent payments we urgently need support in the amount of 4,000 EUR!

AGRU Academy in Cape Town changes the fate of 100 children through education

Under the direction of Tendai Gurumani, about one hundred disadvantaged children between the ages of 5 and 18 receive a quality education here. Tendai herself emigrated from Zimbabwe to South Africa. In 2017, she began teaching a homeless Angolan girl at a train station in Cape Town. More and more children joined her classes. She used bars or fast-food restaurants as makeshift classrooms. Then she decided to found a school: the AGRU Academy.

Classes are based on an internationally recognized curriculum, Cambridge Assessment International Education, and include both primary and lower secondary levels. The teachers, also IDPs, are all volunteers. No admission fees or tuition are charged.

Let’s make a real difference together and give 100 children a perspective for the future! Every Euro counts!