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Case study: Supporting educational access and equity in Cape Town
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Case study: Supporting educational access and equity in Cape Town
English Stars Sound Waves Literacy 22/10/25
Educational inequality remains a critical challenge for schools around the world, with many struggling to provide the essential resources and infrastructure required for quality education.
Sydney-based teacher, Camille Hadley, witnessed this disparity firsthand during a trip to Cape Town, inspiring her to partner with a local foundation to help build brighter futures for students in the low-income neighbourhood of Sir Lowry’s Pass Village.
Her journey began with a visit to Cape Town, where she went to the Journey’s End Winery. Camille was immediately struck by their extensive resume of sustainability and social responsibility. She learned that their foundation, Journey’s End Foundation, had co-funded a new school in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and remains actively involved through ongoing contributions and school activities. Sow the Seed now educates 1,500 local students and with the foundation’s ongoing support, these numbers are only set to grow.
In the same village, the foundation also supports Mila’s Angels, a creche for smaller children aged 4 months to 6 years, which provides meals and snacks for 48 children daily. These initiatives, along with the foundation’s other remarkable efforts, inspired her to become involved as a volunteer teacher.
Image supplied by Camille.
How Firefly resources found global reach
Camille first encountered Firefly Education’s resources when her school in Sydney used the Sound Waves Literacy program. She was immediately drawn to its user-friendliness and the way it engaged her students. So, when selecting resources for her remote teaching work in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village, she knew any Firefly resource would be an excellent choice. Given that English is a second language for her students, Camille values the clear, accessible content in both Sound Waves Literacy and English Stars. The videos in both series not only serve as effective teaching tools but also successfully capture her students’ attention — no small feat when teaching remotely.
Since introducing English Stars alongside Sound Waves Literacy, Camille has seen remarkable progress. Using the two programs in tandem has enhanced her students’ learning experience, providing them with the structure, repetition and engagement needed to develop confidence in their language skills.
Her younger students, aged four to five, are excelling in letter recognition and are beginning to tackle blending – skills reinforced by weekly use of the Sound Waves Decodable Readers. Using English Stars, her older students are also steadily improving and gaining more confidence when writing independently.
Image supplied by Camille.
A glimpse into Camille’s classroom
Camille’s work is completely voluntary and takes place five mornings per week, which she balances on top of her regular job as an English teacher in Salzburg. Although she teaches remotely, she still prioritises visiting her students in person twice a year. She describes the classrooms as bare, with very little in the rooms except for plastic tables and chairs. ‘Many children also lack books, pencils and shoes to wear to school,’ Camille explains. Fortunately, meals are provided by the soup kitchens which operate in the area. Despite limited resources, Camille’s students do have some access to the internet and computers. While power outages occur occasionally, the available infrastructure is sufficient for teaching purposes.
Looking ahead
If there’s one thing Camille’s story highlights, it’s that disadvantaged communities desperately need access to high-quality resources. Camille believes the only way we can create meaningful change is through education and ‘encouraging reading, good grammar and independent thinking skills.’ For Camille, her work is ultimately about ‘opening the world to these students, far beyond the 5km radius they live in.’
Camille’s hope for her students is that she has created a lasting thirst for knowledge that stays with them through to university. As for her own teaching journey, she plans on continuing her volunteer work while staying engaged with emerging ideas and the latest educational tools.
If you’d like to support the schools partnered with Journey’s End Foundation, you can contribute through Camille’s GoFundMe page.