Christel House, a nonprofit school on the Cape Flats, is an agent of change in its community
A few years ago I was invited to represent my education NGO at a wealth conference in Switzerland. Except for a handful of NGOs, all 300 attendees had personal wealth in excess of $100 million (about R2 billion). The conference provided a platform for the world’s super wealthy to consider how, where and why to invest in philanthropic endeavours.
I wish I could invite those philanthropists to visit Christel House, a nonprofit school in Ottery, Cape Town. It has achieved so much in the 22 years since it opened its doors to the children of many impoverished Cape Flats residents. For instance, it has recorded a 100% pass rate and seen 97% of school leavers find employment or enrolment in higher education.
The school has built social support, free transport and food into its educational model and has seen outstanding results in the behaviour and academic outcomes of the learners. It hasn’t stopped with the children either. Parents have been assisted with finding jobs, addressing substance abuse and becoming computer literate while youth outreach programmes have given young adults opportunities for skills development and employment. In this way, the school has become an agent of change in its community.
Directing social support for communities through schools is not a novel approach and has been done successfully elsewhere in the world.
“Schools are much more than educational institutions,” writes educationist Julian Thomas. “They are hubs for our communities and places where we can bridge barriers to identifying and addressing health, mental health and other risks in our children and their families.”
He adds: “They can provide a universal platform for building social inclusion and economic participation at the level of each community.”
What schools like Christel House and others like it aim to do is to stop intergenerational poverty. This is when people who grow up in poor households face poverty as adults. Two studies show that children who grow up in low-income households also live in low-income households as adults.
The US-based research goes on to analyse the data, showing the biggest drivers for intergenerational poverty as being child education and access to schools, child health and access to health care, parental income, family structure, housing, neighbourhood crime and child maltreatment. For a child’s long-term success, not surprisingly, education and skills have a crucial effect on lifetime earnings.
It may shock many to learn that more than 13 million people in South Africa (roughly 25%) live below the food poverty line of R27 a day. This is how much an individual needs to get enough food to stay alive daily.
Close to a quarter (23%) of South African children face severe food poverty. Hungry children can’t pay attention and learn. They often head for homes without electricity or running water, facing overcrowded spaces and dangerous living conditions. Yet, we expect them to somehow rise above these circumstances all on their own and break free from the poverty passed down through generations.
Education is facing a crisis in South Africa as it is. Budgetary cuts and looming teacher retrenchments mean that many schools will cut down on already limited resources. Classes will become bigger, teachers will become more stressed and educational outcomes will be negatively affected. We are already seeing low literacy and numeracy rates for children in South Africa. How much lower can we afford to go?
The answer is — we can’t.
With meaningful intervention, we can empower individuals and communities, ensuring that many do not continue to face the same struggles into adulthood.
Corporate South Africa is responding to the demand to invest in corporate social investment (CSI). In 2023, the estimated total expenditure in CSI reached R11.8 billion, an 8% increase from the previous year. With global pressure on businesses to strengthen their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) strategies, partnerships with NGOs are becoming not only a means of regulatory compliance but a vital pathway for driving meaningful change in local communities.
Increasing investment in education — beyond funding and including greater access to networks, mentorship, and skills transfer opportunities — is a key avenue for corporations and employees to get involved.
We cannot look to the government for more support. The onus is on us. This is the time to invest in schools, especially those reaching into communities and contributing to the upliftment of the communities around them. Our children need us to step in and support them in making their dreams come true.
Adri Marais is the chief executive of Christel House South Africa. The school has been shortlisted as one of the world’s top 10 schools in the Overcoming Adversity category for the World’s Best School prizes. It is opening a new high school in 2025 and is aiming to open another campus in the Western Cape in 2026-27.