Marjorie Schlenoff on helping to educate South African communities
By: Lindsay Smith
Special to the Examiner
August 31, 2009
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Marjorie Schlenoff (courtesy photo)
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The San Franciscan started Teach with Africa, a nonprofit that sends teachers to South Africa to increase graduation rates in underserved communities.
How did you come up with the idea? I came up with the idea because I am a breast cancer survivor and I had always wanted to see Africa. I wasn’t quite sure how long my life was going to be and this was on my list of things to do. Once I got there, I saw the enormous need in South Africa because of a very dire shortage of teachers. I thought that my way of giving back would be sending teachers through an organization and it turned out there was no organization in the U.S. or abroad that funded teachers to Africa.
How many volunteers have you sent? We set up less than two years ago ... and we sent 12 volunteers last summer. This summer, we currently have 20 people. They’re a combination of teachers, psychologists, and MBAs who are focused on social entrepreneurship.
Why is this program important for Africa? Overall in South Africa, only 2 to 3 percent graduate from high school with a matriculation exam, so 98 percent don’t pass. In the schools we were involved in, 100 percent passed, allowing them to go to college.
Where do you see Teach with Africa going? Teach with Africa is hoping to expand throughout South Africa. We have expanded to Johannesburg and hope to expand to the rural villages and into other areas of Africa.
