Shalom Gesinskerk is a family church in Ladismith, Western Cape, South Africa whose vision includes positively impacting the community of Kannaland, the municipal region of Ladismith and surrounds, to better the lives of the residents. In 2005, as part of the Church’s efforts to fulfil this vision, it established a new school, Shalom Akademie. This school is a well-resourced private, fee-paying school and accordingly, by its nature, serves the upper-middle class population of the town and surrounds. The school has been a huge success, often topping the list of its peers in comparing academic and other educational results.
However, the church’s vision extends to all strata of society, and when an opportunity arose in 2021 to purchase a piece of land, it had no hesitation in doing so with the intention to develop a donor-funded, no- or low-fee school of skills on the land. Accordingly, Shalom Strata was established and registered as a Public Benefit Organisation with a mandate to make this a reality.

Our Vision

Our vision is for every child to have an education that allows them to fulfil their God-given potential.

Our Mission

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we work to achieve our vision by providing educational services, with a special focus on skills training for children who are not well-suited to an academic education stream.

Our Strategy

In the context of a rural, farm-based community, we are aware that many children end their educational journal in the intermediate phase, often basically illiterate and innumerate. Others might proceed to the senior phase, but are insufficiently prepared to be able to succeed as they move forward. With development constraints, often linked to foetal alcohol syndrome, other children lack the mental capacity to thrive in an academic environment, but would be perfectly capable in a hands on or trade-based educational paradigm. Our strategy is to provide a trade-based education facility on a no fee basis, incorporating a bridging year where we strive to ensure that all children entering the programme are adequately prepared to successfully complete the course offered.