The learners are being introduced to the challenging world of chess thanks to volunteers who generously give their time to teach and play with them.

For many of the learners, this is a new experience. As they learn the game, the learners are also developing valuable skills: concentration, patience, critical thinking, problem-solving and the ability to think ahead. Chess teaches an important lesson too — that every decision has consequences, mistakes can be learned from, and sometimes you have to rethink your strategy and try again.

For learners at a no-fee school, opportunities like this do not often come available. We are enormously grateful to volunteers such as Maxine, who are opening doors to new experiences and showing the learners that learning can be challenging, rewarding — and fun.

Maxine, who has volunteered at several other organisations, had this to say about her experience at HELP: “It is the best at HELP as it feels like having fun with wonderful kids while playing chess with them!”