Making a Difference From a Distance | Dyslexia Education in Africa

How one Zoom call helped dyslexia education reach children in Africa

When I was seven years old, my family moved from New Zealand to East Africa.

We lived in Tanzania for several years while my father worked as an agricultural advisor on a United Nations development project. Some of my earliest memories are of vast landscapes, resilient communities, and people working together to build practical solutions with very limited resources.

When we left Africa, I quietly made myself a promise:

One day, I would come back and contribute in some meaningful way.

Life moved on. Careers evolved. Decades passed.

I never imagined that promise would eventually be fulfilled through dyslexia education — or through a laptop screen from the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand.

For much of my professional life, I worked in adult education. Again and again, I met intelligent, capable people who struggled deeply with reading, writing, spelling or processing information in traditional learning environments.

Many had spent years believing they were “slow,” lazy or somehow less capable than others.

They weren’t.

Many were dyslexic learners whose visual-spatial way of thinking had never been understood.

Discovering the Davis Dyslexia Method completely changed the way I understood learning difficulties. Rather than focusing only on repetition or remediation, the Davis approach recognises that many dyslexic individuals think in pictures, movement and real-world experiences rather than in sequential words and sounds.

Over time, that work led me into online dyslexia education and international training calls with educators and parents from around the world.

That is how I met Geoffrey in Kenya and Francisca in Nigeria.

Both were deeply committed to helping children who were struggling in traditional classrooms. Both recognised bright learners falling behind simply because their brains processed information differently. And both were willing to do extraordinary things to create change in their local communities.

Geoffrey first joined one of our free dyslexia webinars using a borrowed smartphone. During that session, he realised many of the students he had believed were struggling academically were actually dyslexic learners.

That moment changed the direction of his work.

He began applying visual and hands-on learning approaches with students in Kenya and started seeing breakthrough results. Students who had been falling behind began progressing through school with renewed confidence. Some have since continued into higher education.

At the same time, in Nigeria, Francisca was supporting families while raising her own neurodivergent child and participating in international dyslexia training sessions — sometimes waking at 2am for online calls across multiple time zones.

One of the moments that moved me most was seeing photos of children creating clay alphabet and word models using real clay dug from Francisca’s backyard.

No expensive equipment.

No elite facilities.

Just commitment, creativity and a belief that children deserve to learn in ways that work for their brains.

Today, both Geoffrey and Francisca are helping create learning environments for neurodivergent children in their own communities.

What continues to inspire me most is this:

Meaningful contribution does not always require proximity.

Sometimes it begins with a conversation.
A shared idea.
A willingness to teach.
A willingness to listen.
A willingness to say yes.

We live in a world where one online conversation can travel across continents and quietly change the trajectory of a child’s life.

That still amazes me.

Because in the end, our dreams do not need passports.

They simply need people willing to care enough to act.

If this resonates with you, there are three ways to continue the journey:

Join us — it's not too late The Davis Parent Power - Dyslexia course began this weekend. You're welcome to join us from Session 2. Reach out directly and we'll get you set up. 📧 [email protected] 👉 Or register directly here

Work with me one-to-one If you're ready for a deeper, personalised approach for your child or yourself, I offer 1:1 Davis transformation programs. 👉 Book a conversation

Support Geoffrey's kindergarten in Kenya Geoffrey is building something remarkable with very little. If you'd like to contribute to his work with neurodivergent children in Kakamega, every contribution makes a difference. 👉Donate here