Mamelodi, Pretoria: Spelling Bee Competition in South African Indigenous Languages, a new and first-ever competition, is announced by Eye of Hope. By bringing back value to South African indigenous languages, our team aims to fill the gap in the current literacy programs.

In this competition, spellers will pride themselves on their cultural languages through intellectual activities that aim to preserve and promote African languages. For the first event, only primary schools in the Mamelodi community will be invited, with the organization planning to invite local schools. Those who will be targeted are learners who are in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades.

Our Arts and Culture program presents this newly established community outreach. During research conducted on South African languages, we found that learners are not given a reason to learn their home languages but are given reasons to learn English instead. We plan to make the use of indigenous languages a priority as well. In addition to our educational programs, we decided to come up with an initiative that is completely original.

“This is not only a competition for spelling words in African languages, but it serves as also a platform that will ensure that African Languages do not fade or cease to exist in the near future,” says Mr. KS Malahlela, Founder of The Eye of Hope.

The benefits of this new competition include.

• Encourage individuals, specifically the upcoming youth, to have pride in their mother tongue.
• Promote and enhance the use of African literature in the country.
• Ensure participation by learners in their home language lessons, as they now will find a reason towards learning their mother tongue in school.

About The Eye of Hope: The Eye of Hope is a community development organization, registered with the Department of Social Development. We run by a transparent mission which is to empower, educate and raise awareness about socio-economic issues affecting people in disadvantaged communities. Our core mandate is to achieve sustainable development through youth participation, which makes us unique. We have 1600 beneficiaries receiving support from our 7 active community outreach programs. We are an award-winning organization, having received 3 awards in a term of 4 years.

Contact person: Mr. KS Malahlela (Founder and President)

Contact number: 074 711 5696