Komo Learning Centres: Johnson Nkosi Primary School

Nkosi was a boy infected by HIV who lived in South Africa in the 1990s. Like many other children infected by HIV/AIDS, he was denied education because of his HIV-positive status. However, the intervention by his foster mother, Gail Johnson, to provide Nkosi with a quality education and opportunities for an optimistic future gave inspiration to the founders of Mpoma to believe that with little resources there was a lot that could be done to save the future generation from the vicious circle of AIDS. The school was founded to provide a safe and free environment where living with HIV/AIDS carries no stigma.

At the newly founded Mpoma Community HIV/AIDS Initiative’s first meetings, it was agreed that the highest concern for the members was their children’s education. Many of these children were not attending public primary school because they were too weak to access the distant schools. Those children who were able to get to those schools could not cope with the stigma and discrimination in the public schools because of their association with HIV/AIDS.

With donated funds and land from the members themselves and well-wishers, the Initiative spearheaded the construction of a simple building to house a daycare centre for their children, which later evolved into the Johnson Nkosi Memorial Primary School. The school is now an impressive collection of classrooms, dormitories, demonstration gardens, and play space for children of the community.

The students at the Nkosi School number 354 children ranging from 3 to 17 years old. Of these, 126 are orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). These OVCs attend Nkosi free of charge and are provided with uniforms and materials, room and board if required, and a safe environment by school supporters and staff. The other students are required to pay school fees amounting to about $45 per year for day school students and $180 per year for boarders.

Nkosi is among the best performing schools in the region and the top girls in the primary leaving examinations in the last two years were from Nkosi School.

A formal mentoring program (GURU) was introduced during the 2009 summer.

Click on a photo below to view that child’s profile, or click here for additional students.