Moms do the maths amid gang mayhem
Numeracy project run by mothers a tonic in high-crime Cape Flats
54 The number of murders committed in Elsies River in 2018
90 The numbers of murders in Elsies River so far this year
37% The proportion of 2018 matriculants who scored above 40% in maths
That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning — just to know what I can do
Faheema Hassiem Mentor with Math Moms
● Some people on the Cape Flats want revenge on gangsters, others want the military to stay forever, and many just dream of escaping.
But for a group of women in the violent community of Elsies River, a programme called Math Moms is proving a powerful antidote to a life of trauma and fear.
Powered by “motherly love”, the programme is structured so that retired teachers in the area become mentors.
They meet weekly in a mosque with unemployed moms — the Math Moms — to refresh their knowledge of numbers and train them to teach children in the foundation phase.
The Math Moms, in turn, provide a safe space for pupils in grades 2, 3 and 4 in local schools — and even their own houses — to improve their numeracy.
About 500 children in five schools are reached by 36 Math Moms, who are taught by seven mentors.
The intervention has improved maths marks, but, as important, it has changed the lives of the unemployed moms and their pupils.
Earlier this month, Clarke Estate in Elsies was the scene of a horrific quadruple murder in which three children and a 19-year-old man were shot dead execution-style in a Wendy house late one night.
Dereez Witbooi, a Math Mom, lives nearby and said Toslin Samuels, a 10-year-old who was shot through the head, had been her daughter’s best friend.
Gangster parents
“I didn’t come to school for three days because I just cried solidly,” Witbooi told the Sunday Times this week. “We live among gangsters. Some of the children who come to our maths programme even have parents who are gangsters or mothers on tik. They come to me for the maths but I am also like a mother to them.”
Anovuyo Njoti, 10, said: “The maths lessons with the moms has really helped me. I think my marks are going to go up because now I understand fractions. But also, I enjoy being with the moms.”
Sonja Cilliers, who founded the programme and travels regularly from Sea Point to Elsies River, said it began in 2016.
Through the programme the Math Moms “are employed, trained and upskilled, thereby gaining more financial security, work experience and further employment opportunities”, she said. It had also brought Christians and Muslims together.
Of the 36 mothers involved in 2018, four went on to study, four obtained permanent employment, one founded a crèche and seven became teaching assistants. The rest remain with the programme.
Gabeba Agherdien, a maths consultant who helped design the programme, said: “After the first round we realised the children were behind in terms of CAPS [the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement], so we revised the material to help them catch up.”
Grade 4 was added this year and Agherdien said there were plans to add more grades. “And it should be replicated in other communities.”
Math Mom Hilary Thai said her brother was shot dead a month ago but within 48 hours she was back at school. “I arrived as usual on the Tuesday and said: ‘Sitting at home crying is not going to help me. I must be strong for kids and community’.
“All my colleagues at the programme came and hugged me. I felt better being there than anywhere else.”
She says the programme is also an escape for children who regularly witness violence.
Faheema Hassiem, a mentor, said her greatest pleasure was seeing a change in the moms.
“That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning — just to know what I can do with them and the direction we’re going in.”
Studying through Unisa and with a baby on her hip, Estrolita Geduld said she never skipped a teaching session.
“Just that one-on-one interaction the children get with us is unusual for them. You see them progressing quickly, not just in maths but reading as well.”
Ronecha Hans said the programme had changed the way she parents her own child and that her house had become a haven in the community.
“There are 11 children who come to my house. When they see me coming home they come running. They just want to talk and be at my house because it is safer than being in the road. I want to give kids in my community the opportunities I never had.”