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Difference Maker

At Dog School, children gain a sense of achievement caring for their canines

Patricia Huon

Funda Nenja outreach workers, including Nomonde Dlungwane (center), visit Shiye Mbhense and one of her family’s dogs, Bobby.

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By Patricia Huon<br>Contributor

June 30, 2026, 12:14 p.m. ET

Mpophomeni, South Africa

Dogs tug excitedly at their leashes as children lead them through the rolling hills. When they reach a grassy field arrayed with rows of rubber cones, the training starts. Puppies bursting with joy weave between the legs of their young handlers, while older dogs move neatly between the cones with gentle guidance – and treats – from the kids.

This is Dog School, operated by the nonprofit Funda Nenja in Mpophomeni, a semirural township in South Africa’s<br>KwaZulu-Natal province. Funda Nenja, which means “learn with the dog” in the isiZulu language, works to build trust, dignity, and confidence among the children of the township, where poverty and unemployment remain entrenched.

Karen Norris/Staff

“I love coming here,” says 12-year-old Lungelo Mdeni, who has attended Dog School for three years with his pet, Roli. “I show my friends all the tricks he can do. And he also protects me. Nobody can bully me if I’m with my dog.”

Why We Wrote This

When a student at Dog School gives a cue and a dog responds, it fosters a feeling of accomplishment: I did that. Children who once feared or mistreated animals begin to show care and leadership.

Love and empathy<br>Dog School started in 2009, when former schoolteacher Adrienne Olivier was volunteering at a local animal shelter and conducting outreach activities in schools and other community spaces. She noticed that some children and adults in the township did not treat – or train – their dogs well.<br>“I spoke to a few kids and said, ‘Do you want to learn?’ And they said, ‘Yes, please,’” she recalls.<br>Ms. Olivier and some friends with dog-training experience enrolled 12 kids and their dogs in a three-week program. At the end, the children were so enthusiastic about what they had learned that Ms. Olivier decided to offer free weekly sessions for any kid in Mpophomeni who wanted them. “And it just grew,” she says during a phone call from Australia, where she has now retired.

Patricia Huon

Lungelo Mdeni (in dark shirt) and his dog Roli attend Dog School, run by the nonprofit Funda Nenja, in Mpophomeni, South Africa.

At the beginning, Funda Nenja was predominantly an animal welfare organization. But soon, volunteers saw that they needed to help the children as well as the dogs. Many of the children come from difficult backgrounds.<br>“We couldn’t expect the children to show their dogs love, kindness, and empathy if they weren’t receiving that at home themselves,” says Lisa Button, Funda Nenja’s project administrator. “The kids learn basic obedience with their dogs, some tricks, just fun stuff. But it’s also a portal into the community.”

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Purpose and a pathway<br>Every Friday afternoon during the school term, as many as 50 children gather at Dog School with their pets. The space serves as a learning hub, where children not only develop practical skills and knowledge about their dogs’ needs, but can also access veterinary care. Staff members say the lessons strengthen the bond between the kids and their dogs, and shape how participants relate to animals, to one another, and to their environment.<br>When a child gives a cue and a dog responds, it creates a clear sense of achievement: I did that. Children who once feared or mistreated animals begin to show care and leadership. Small successes, such as getting a dog to do a new trick, give many of the children a sense of confidence, in a setting where they also feel trusted and valued.<br>Vuyo Lakani, now 25 years old, attended Dog School when he was a boy and had two dogs.

“I think by that time I was mostly attracted to the program because, when we went back home, we would get a fruit and a juice, and also a small pack of dog food,” he says with a laugh. Dog School still provides these items.

Patricia Huon

Vuyo Lakani, who attended the school as a boy, now works full time with the program.

Mr. Lakani works full time with Funda Nenja. He says he is gaining a sense of purpose and a potential pathway to other employment. In addition to computer skills, “I have learned many things with Funda Nenja,” he says.<br>During weekly outreach and home...