13-year-old boy learns to read for the first time

One of the learners at Klipheuwel joined our reading group at the beginning of this year. He was 13 years old and because of his circumstances, he only started school at the age of 13. Because of his age, he was placed in Grade 3. 

When he came to our remedial reading group, he was a very polite and confident young man. Nobody would ever have guessed that he could not read at all! He didn’t know the alphabet. Words like en and is were extremely difficult for him to read. I could see that he felt self-conscious and ashamed that he couldn’t read, especially being 13 and in a class of Grade 3s, where children younger than him could read. He was also very impatient with himself. 

So, I told him a story about athletes; how some of us can run fast and others run slowly but that it’s okay, God made us all different. I told him about how athletes must practice over and over to be able to run at their best and that it’s the same with reading. We practice over and over until we get it right. He lit up and told me that he is a 100m sprinter and that he runs for Western Province. I was amazed at the presence of Jesus in our midst, how special this boy is and also how much God loves him. I double-checked with his teacher who confirmed that he does run for Western Province. 

Our entire team praised his athletic abilities and tried to boost his confidence when it came to reading. We have patiently loved him through his reading journey. We have joined hands with his class teacher and, so far, everything he can read is what we have taught him. 

He knows his alphabet and many of his dubbel klanke (double sounds) now.

Here is a short video clip of how he’s reading now.