Canute Waswa is a Serial Entrepreneur, tactician, strategic thinker, problem solver, writer, relationship builder, connector, mobilizer, podcast enthusiast, and speaker.
But Above all, he is a homeschooling father.

Despite studying economics in university, his early career followed a passion for nature- providing enriching outdoor activities to fellow students through the President’s Award Scheme. He progressed from there to work for Outward Bound in Kenya, Bermuda and Canada. On return to Kenya he established Outdoors Africa, a management & training consultancy with a proven record and established reputation that specializes in performance management and provision of experiential leadership and team development programs.

Waswa is a Gold Award Holder of the Presidents’ Award Scheme and holds a diploma in Outdoors Experiential Education from Outward Bound. He has
been a columnist for the Nation Media Group and is passionate about home education. He is a member of the East African Community of Homeschoolers and part of the African Homeschooling Think Tank of the Global Home Educator’s Exchange.

When not hiking or climbing, the father of three is part of Leadership Foundations, a global network that is dedicated to working with people in inner cities, slums and informal settlements to help them reach their full potential.
Canute Waswa is an eclectic homeschooler. In that he has seen the impact of experiential schooling. –utilizing his passion for the outdoors to raise up a
legacy of the next generation of African Leaders for the Continent.

Alexey Komov is a member of the Boards of the Global Home Education Exchange, of the International Organization for the Family (World Congress of Families) and of the international online petitions platform CitizenGO.

He also runs the «Classical Conversations» homeschooling curriculum in Russia, is the president of the «FamilyPolicy.Ru» Advocacy Group, founder of the St.Peter and Fevronia Family and Demography Foundation Foundation, director of the International Department of the Patriarchal Commission for the Family, Maternity and Childhood Protection of the Russian Orthodox Church and an advisor of the State Duma MP of the Russian Federation.

Martie du Plessis, a teacher and remedial therapist, founded Dynamis in the year 2000, in response to overwhelming enquiries surrounding the implementation of home education.
Martie home educated her own daughter, who is now home educating her own six children.
In her capacity as head of Dynamis, Martie hosts seminars across South Africa to help families make the transition from the traditional school system to Home Education.
Because of the tremendous growth of the home education community in South Africa, Martie established the Dynamis Institute in November 2017.
Currently, Martie focuses on mentoring home educating families to reach their full potential and become the leaders that they are destined to be. These households are described as Rooted Families. It is Martie’s vision to establish Rooted Families in every region of South Africa so that they can live out their vision and become light bearers in their communities.
The Dynamis Institute offers private consultations with families to determine the best approach, curricula and growth programme, according to each household’s specific needs.
The advice is based on each family member’s learning preference and giftedness, also called raw material.
Since 2004, Martie has been developing the Uncapped Education design, and Uncapped Education has seen the light in 2018. It is aimed at developing a child in an unrestricted environment. The goal of the Uncapped design is to bring forth young people that are transformed into purpose-filled maturity so as to strengthen their communities.

Dr Renuka Ramroop, researcher on natural learning

Renuka Ramroop spent her formative years in KwaZulu Natal. She taught English and drama at secondary schools before moving to the Limpopo Province to work in the non-government sector. She provided teacher training and development to rural schools and briefly lectured at the Giyani Teacher Training College. During the early roll out of the Outcomes Based Education, she provided training on this method to the National Education Department. Renuka volunteered at a rural school, serving both as a trainer and mentor and saw the school go from a zero percent matric pass rate to a hundred percent in one year.

However, 17 years ago, after the birth of her first child she chose to be at home. This progressed to the wonderful decision to home educate her two children, following the Natural Learning Approach. The Natural Learning Approach, commonly referred to as ‘unschooling’, is an approach that views learning as a natural aspect of life and living. All learning happens in a natural manner within an ethos of freedom and autonomy.

During her time as a stay-at-home parent she wrote several textbooks and continued her academic studies in education. She completed her Doctorate in Education on Natural Learning, thus producing the first in-depth body of research on Natural Learning in the South African context. Currently Renuka is attached to the University of Limpopo as a Research Associate and is working on several research papers. She has also presented her experiences and research findings on Natural Learning at various conferences.

However, her greatest joy remains her time with her family and their Natural Learning journey. They are passionate about nature and conservation, help with wild bird rehabilitation, play music, participate in a variety of sport and environmental activities and many more. The Natural Learning Approach continues to be a rich and awe-inspiring journey for Renuka and her family.

Mike and his wife, Patty, homeschool their 7 children. He is Senior Counsel and Director of Global Outreach at the HSLDA, coordinating support of educational freedom around the world, eg in Sweden, Germany, Cuba and Kenya. He is an adjunct professor of government at Patrick Henry College, teaching constitutional law.

Bouwe van der Eems and his wife Debbie have been educating their 5 children at home from 2000 onwards. In 2002 he became involved in homeschool organisations when he became trustee and treasurer of the Pestalozzi Trust. He also served a numbers of terms as member of the executive committee of the Association for Homeschooling and Cape Home Educators. In 2016, Bouwe became the chairman of the Pestalozzi Trust.

In 2011 he and his family established the online platform SAHomeschoolers.Org that aims be the starting point for people interested in home education to become part of the home education eco system. In 2013, SAHomeschoolers.Org joined forces with the Kragdag organisation that organises home education events in South Africa.

Bouwe holds an MSC in Electronics Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch and currently works as a Contact Centre architect in the IT industry. He is also a French Horn player and with his children play in the Bellville High Symphonic Wind Band. With his family he lives in Cape Town and is an active citizen involved in the local resident’s association.

Nandi Msezane, the founder of the Pan African Home Education Association, is a Human Rights activist who has worked in India, Thailand, the US, the UK and South Africa. Ms. Msezane chose to home educate her little human because she believes in autonomy and the importance of providing a Pan African perspective to her child’s education. They use an eclectic football Cambridge focused curriculum. As a single lesbian mother to a 12-year old goalkeeper, she has worked on child participation, child labour, ending commercial sexual exploitation, child pornography and child trafficking for sexual exploitation, women’s and LGBTI+ rights.

Dr Brian Ray of the USA is a homeschooling father of 7, and distinguished author and researcher on home schooling. Brian will be visiting South Africa with his wife, Betsy. He is the president and founder of NHERI, the National Home Education Research Institute. Over many years he has done invaluable research on various aspects of home education.

Dr Ray holds his Ph.D. in science education from Oregon State University, his M.S. in zoology from Ohio University, and his B.S. in biology from the University of Puget Sound. He has been a middle school and high school classroom teacher in both public and private schools, an undergraduate college professor, and a university professor at the graduate level. He is a leading international expert with regard to homeschool (home school, home education) research. Dr. Ray executes and publishes research, speaks to the public, testifies before legislators, and serves as an expert witness in courts.

Godfrey Kyazze and his wife, Olga, have been married for 11 years. They homeschool their four children, Ben’El (10), Genesis (8), Trinity (5) and Rouvin (1).

Godfrey is a wonderful storyteller, who loves interacting with his audience. When we visited Kenya in January 2019 we enjoyed tremendously listening to him, especially as he took us through the history of education and the place of home education in his community.

The Kyazzes are leaders and homeschool advocates in Uganda and the East African Region. Through studying the Bible to gain a biblical perspective on education, he became convicted to homeschool his children. In this process he and his wife have created a homeschooling curriculum, previously non-existent in Uganda, to train their children in Christian principles from the African perspective. This curriculum includes training in African history, economics, math, science and other academic disciplines, from a biblical worldview. Godfrey has published a number of papers on home education, curriculum and a Biblical worldview. Godfrey writes, speaks and trains people on matters of a Biblical worldview, Education, Economics, Family and Governance.

He is a board member of the GHEX, the Global Home Education Exchange.

Karin van Oostrum from Pretoria, South Africa, has been involved in home education for the past 29 years, together with her late husband Leendert van Oostrum. Their three daughters never attended school.

Before her marriage Karin obtained a BA degree, as well a BA Honours, and a BA Honours in Applied Linguistics. She worked as a lecturer for a while, as a youth worker, and as a translator and editor. She and her late husband, Leendert van Oostrum, were co-founders of the South African Association for Home Schooling in 1992.

In 1998 they co-founded the Pestalozzi Trust, the South African legal defence fund for home and civil education, and have since then managed the Trust together. She accompanied Leendert to the GHEC 2012 and 2016. Since Leendert’s death in October 2016 Karin has been appointed manager of the Trust, and is responsible for the general and financial administration of the Trust. She also handles telephonic and electronic enquiries on various aspects of home schooling, and offers workshops to veterans and newbies on legal and practical aspects of home education.

Debra Bell, Ph.D. is the best-selling author of the award-winning Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens, and the Ultimate Planners for moms, teens, and students. Her articles on homeschooling have been widely published. She has been a keynote or featured speaker at numerous international and national venues for more than twenty years.

During her homeschooling years, Debra founded three homeschool co-ops which continue today. A pioneer in online education, today she is executive director and lead teacher for Aim Academy, which provides online college prep and AP® courses for 7th-12th graders both stateside and abroad.

Debra holds a bachelor’s of science in communications education, and a master’s degree in English. After homeschooling, she completed a Ph.D. in educational psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. A former high school and college English teacher, Debra and her husband Kermit home educated their four kids K-12.

Peter first learnt about home education before he was married, on a trip to an Ivy League university, where he learnt that more than 25% of the student body consisted of homeshoolers. The result of that trip was that he and his wife, Tarah, homeschool their four children and have been doing so for over 10 years. Peter’s deep appreciation for homeschooling also comes from sharing the teaching responsibilities with his wife.

Peter Stock is the President of the Home School Legal Defense Association (Canada). Peter is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Home Education (CCHE). For several years, Peter developed expertise in several areas of policy. However, his primary focus remained on making or improving the law, and usually with legislation designed to protect children and families. His experience with public policy, from conception to implementation, naturally progressed into protecting and promoting home education.

After having met Peter at the Global Home Education Conference in Russia (2018) the trustees of the Pestalozzi Trust attending the conference were convinced that the Pestalozzi Trust could benefit from his wisdom and experience in politics and policy making. Peter graciously accepted the invitation to become a trustee of the Pestalozzi Trust, and South Africa and the Pestalozzi Trust therefore have a special bond with him and his family.