PE pupil wins first prize at Kenya fair

AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (ANA)

A SCIENTIST from Cape Recife High School in Port Elizabeth has won first prize at the 2019 Kenya Science and Engineering Fair with her project, Sakha Isizwe Ngemfundo (Build the nation through early education).

Caroline Boshoff, who is dyslexic and struggles to read and write, investigated the differences between privileged and underprivileged children during early development.

Exposcience said Boshoff’s research proved that children from an economically underprivileged environment and children with disabilities had gaps in the development of their visual perception skills and could benefit from intervention, in particular a visual perception educational programme.

Caroline said: “I never expected to win. The projects were all so good and the standard was very high. I was very surprised and happy when my name was called out. To get a first position in the Behavioural Science Category was quite a surprise, but when I heard that I also received a gold medal, I thought I was dreaming.”

Exposcience said Caroline planned to continue her Eskom Expo journey this year by finalising her teacher workbook with ideas for educational tools from recyclable material.

“Next year, when I am in Grade 12, I plan a grand finale with a pre- and post-test from children of underprivileged communities after implementing all the resources that I designed.”

Boshoff was joined in Kenya by fellow South African scientists Siphesihle Sithole from Mehlokazulu High School in Pietermaritzburg, Ntendeni Nephawe from Mbilwi Secondary School in Vhembe, and Norman Mashiri from Dr Joseph Shabalala Secondary School in Ladysmith.