The Story of Disadvantaged Students in South Africa

Many rural schools in South Africa lack necessary learning resources such as textbooks, computers, and libraries. Without these resources, students struggle to acquire knowledge and develop necessary skills. Poor infrastructure and lack of resources in rural areas often lead to limited access to quality education.

Limited or no access to reliable internet connectivity hinders students’ ability to access online learning resources, conduct research, and keep up with digital learning methods. Poverty often permeates rural areas, making it challenging for families to afford basic educational expenses such as school uniforms, stationery, or exam fees. 

This socioeconomic inequality further exacerbates the educational disadvantage faced by students. Overcoming Odds is a daily struggle for young south African learners faced with poverty. 

In some rural areas, students face language barriers, as they may speak a different language at home compared to the language of instruction at school. This linguistic gap hampers effective comprehension and learning which perpetuates the cycle of poverty and limits their potential for socioeconomic progress.

A 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results revealed that the majority (81%) of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language, including their home languages.

Our organisation has always had a special interest in programmes that uplift and empower dreams for young south Africans. 

It is with this spirit that Ashraful Aid embarks on our Back to school campaign yearly equipping young students with the supplies they need to start the new year as students head back to school. Amongst the host of challenges faced by students, we have identified the lack of resources as being an area we can make the greatest impact. 

In 2023, we successfully distributed hundreds of back to school bags that contained stationary. The smiles and self confidence we saw from this campaign inspired us to set a target of 1000 back to school kits for 2024.

Our supplies are sourced from wholesalers who currently supply Pick and Pay, Makro, ShopRite and popular school stationary retail brands. 

Click here to be part of this programme »

As South Africans commence the new year looking for special offers to cope with the ongoing increase in costs associated to education, our team will be working to ensure that the young students who cannot afford attend the first day of school with confidence and pride, sporting their new kits sponsored by Ashraful aid.

The investment into these children’s future comes at R250 per kit.

Click here to be part of this programme »