JOHANNESBURG - More than two-thirds of refugee students at the Central Methodist Church of Southern Africa have passed their 2009 examinations. (Pictured: Scared and having to fend for themselves, parent-less children at the Central Methodist Church in South
The headmaster of the School Alpha Zhou said 67 per cent of pupils had passed, in the spite of all the problems they faced. Despite the environment at the church, the pupils managed to pass. It was because of the motivation and hard work by the teachers at the school and the support of the church, said the head. The school works to the Cambridge syllabus, which is taught by mostly Zimbabwean teachers.
Pupils, some of whom are without their parents at the refuge, rely on handouts for their food, and have to contend with crowded, unsanitary conditions and the constant fear of attack not only from thugs, but also from police who harass the refugees on the pretext of searching for criminals. The church houses around 3,000 Zimbabweans and people from other countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Malawi and Somalia.