Sikulasonke Development Agency is an Eastern Cape based non-profit organisation with a mission to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through education. We believe that educated individuals have the power to change their status quo and those of their families. Sikulasonke partners with communities to promote, improve, accelerate and safe-guide education from Early Childhood Development to University level.

Only 6% of the South African population holds university degrees while eight in ten grade four learners in South Africa struggle to read for meaning [2] this is a national crisis that requires strong partnerships to drive and advocate for quality education. Every community and household have a role to play in addressing the national crisis. Sikulasonke facilitates this drive through strong partnerships while empowering and supporting key role players in education to invest and uphold quality education.  

We achieve this through our five programme pillars: 

Caregivers Support – we collaborate and build the capacity of caregivers to value, promote, and participate in the education of their children.

Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) Support – we improve the quality of education at ECD level through teacher training, mentorship programmes, and infrastructure development.

Reading, Homework and Master Clubs – we establish reading and homework clubs championed by local leaders to improve literacy, reading and provide extra needed lessons for high school learners in Science and Mathematics.

Teacher Engagements – We provide a platform for exchange learnings between high and low performing schools to encourage, share best practises and new methodologies in improving performance.

University Entry and Support Clubs – we facilitate career guidance sessions and provide access to university materials during the application process while ensuring that our university buddy system supports our rural students cope in university and therefore reduce University drop-out rate.