My son has been struggling with reading and understanding words, particularly the difference between the D and B sounds. As this was a great concern to me, I sent him to another institution to assist him in this regard. Unfortunately, he did not progress at this institution. When he started with Grade 4 I noticed that it was getting worse even though he had help from Help2Read and assistance at home.

In June 2013 his teacher called me in to discuss this matter and I was shocked when she said he reached a stage where he has to be sent to a special school, because he is not coping. I was devastated, because as someone who has never had to repeat at a school, you somehow ask yourself, what did I do wrong? I had to look at other ways to assist my son and I had absolutely no idea where to start. I even wanted to change schools, but thought how is that going to help him and I will not just be shifting the blame. I stumbled onto the EDUBLOX website by chance and could not believe that what they are offering is exactly what my son needed.

After a consultation with Mrs Allie it was decided that he should start with the holiday program. I was sceptical and could not understand how this would benefit him, but I decided to try it. It took a lot of sacrifice to get him to the clinic at 8:30 am during the holidays, but even when it was raining he got up and was determined to go to class. When he went back to school after the holidays the teacher noticed an immediate change. I was amazed that after only 2 weeks he started reading without hesitation and he managed to read from posters or from the newspaper. His self-esteem grew and I could see how much more confident he was.

About 1 month before the end of the year exams he came home with a diploma from Help2Read. This was given to him for his improvement in reading and also for graduating from the program. A very proud moment for my son and a tear-filled day for me.

During the exams I was worried, because he constantly told me he didn’t understand some of the questions or that the teacher said he had a very low mark. I encouraged him to do his best and always reminded him that to me it’s not important if he had good marks or not, but that it was more important that he did his best. I emphasised how far we came from identifying the problem and that no matter what I will always be proud of him.

The day I collected his report card I was trying to prepare myself for the worst that he might had to repeat the grade, but to my amazement the teacher shook my hand and congratulated me on his pass to Grade 5. This day I will always remember as the day my son came up to me and said, “shukran mommy for helping”, (thanking you mommy for helping me).

Yes, it is a great sacrifice to get up early on a Saturday to get him to EDUBLOX by 8:30 am, but it is worth every cent and I would recommend it to any parent.

A heartfelt thank you to all EDUBLOX staff for their help and a special hug to Mrs Allie for her compassion and sympathy in our time of need. May Allah reward you.

Insha Allah

Nazlie Fisher