Hi,
my name is Yamkela Tofu. I am based in Mfuleni and am in Grade 10 at Malibu High School. I am also a tutor for Education Without Borders (EwB).
EwB has several sites in Cape Town and I tutor at the Nobantu Centre site, which is based in Mfuleni. I started tutoring at EwB in 2019, being assigned to the Grade 4 learners for both English and Mathematics. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy for me to accept this proposal as I had a lot of thoughts running through my mind. I have been an official Nobantu Centre member since the age of 5 and I haven’t stopped attending since.
At the time I was approached to tutor by EwB, I was the Ballroom coach at Nobantu as I had a lot of experience in that sport, so having to take on tutoring on top of my studies and coaching sounded like a lot of work. I accepted the tutoring proposal, however, as I always tell myself that there is nothing I cannot do or handle, and this decision has helped me in a lot of ways. I was able to give back to the place (Nobantu) which has always given and done a lot of good for me, and that was a pretty heartwarming feeling. I was able to give the learners a lot of help which I wish I could have received when I was at their age, and I have helped them from repeating some of the academic mistakes that I made. Instead of impacting others only, tutoring has also impacted my life in a good way.
The thing about helping others is that it kind of helps you more. The year before I stated tutoring, which was 2018, was a big transition for me, as moving from primary to high school was no easy task. This transition came with my marks dropping from what they were in primary school, and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
Since I started tutoring in Grade 9, my marks have improved a lot, because as I tutored others, I was learning too and it was making my brain sharper, and the results were beautiful. On top of all the benefits I just mentioned, EwB provides payment for tutors which has helped me in a very beneficial way. It has taught me to become economically responsible, to save and budget, and it has given me some form of independency.
Having mentioned all these highlights on tutoring, I am very glad that I actually took this opportunity as it has brought a lot of good in my life.
#TUTORING ROCKS!!