About EduHelp
At EduHelp, we believe in focusing on the well-being of the whole person. We integrate academic, social, cognitive and family wellness to support the child and their family.
Our individually tailored programmes for each individual identify their specific strengths and challenges to create resilience, growth, and progress in their whole person. With our guidance, children learn to read, write, comprehend, and express themselves with confidence, empowering them to succeed within the schooling system and beyond. Older learners become steadfast in their learning, learning abilities and preferences, through individualised guidance. At EduHelp, we offer a comprehensive range of services including support learning, educational wellness, counselling, enrichment, parent guidance, and more.
Writing Skills
Writing Skills
Our services range from support and guidance in learning to write, to one-on-one academic writing support coaching.
Reading Skills
Reading Skills
We support young learners in learning to read and facilitate older learners with reading challenges.
Comprehension
Comprehension
Reading with comprehension is a lifelong skill that supports all other academic endeavours.
At EduHelp we specialise in:
Assisted & Support Learning
Facilitation
Learning Challenges & Differences
Reading Skills
Writing Skills
Comprehension Skills
Expression Skills
Meet the team
Melissa Joyce van Hal (van Oord)
Cape Town
Qualifications
- BA Majors: History and Visual Art History (UCT)
- BA Honours History (UCT)
- BA Honours Counselling Psychology (UNISA)
- MA History (UKZN)
- PGCE Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase (UNISA) (Distinction)
- PGDE in Disability Studies (UNISA) (Distinction)
- EFR Instructor (First Aid)
- SACE and ASCHP registered
- Continuous attendance of courses, workshops, and CPD programmes
Experience
- 20 years of experience working with adults and children, specialising in individuals facing learning challenges
- 5 years of university-level tutoring
- 6 years of experience working with differently-abled students at the university level
- 2 years of managerial experience in a remedial facility under a renowned specialist
- 15 years of running an independent company specializing in remedial and support learning
- 20 years of overall remedial and support learning experience
- 2 years as a support learning specialist at a private school
- Personal experience as a diagnosed dyslexic and ADHD individual
About Melissa
My journey began at the age of 16, working in a pharmacy where I discovered my passion for connecting with people and offering practical and tangible advice. From tutoring university students to guiding those with learning challenges, my path then led me to become a scuba diving instructor in Vietnam, where I found joy in teaching and helping others learn in exciting new ways.
Upon returning to Durban, I embraced roles as a scuba diving and emergency First Responder Instructor, encountering diverse clients of all ages and backgrounds. Seeking managerial experience, I transitioned to working as Area Manager for an educational firm before answering the call to work directly with children as the Head of the English Section at an educational centre.
In 2009 I founded EduHelp, a platform dedicated to supporting learners of all ages and abilities, including young adults and differently-abled adults. Through individual sessions, group sessions, and tailored programs, I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations in countless lives.
Drawing on my personal experience with dyslexia and ADHD, I’ve also ventured into educational writing, aiming to make learning accessible, engaging, and enjoyable. Together with Loudine, I’ve embarked on various projects, including the recent launch of our first EduHelp book.
My work now includes working on educational wellness workshops in collaboration with Jeanne Kruger Counselling, where we explore both the academic and wellness aspects of the educational environment.
My academic background spans linguistics, psychology, child development, English, media, visual arts, and cultural and environmental history, culminating in a Masters Degree. I hold a PGCE in Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase and a PGDE in Disabilities Studies (both completed with distinction), and am registered with the South African Council of Educators (SACE) and with ASCHP (Association of Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners) as a Specialist Wellness Counsellor. Furthermore, I am an Accredited SACE Provider for teachers by offering Type-3 CPD point workshops and groups. With over two decades of academic and professional experience, I’m dedicated to providing holistic, whole-person support and creating optimal learning environments for every individual I serve.
Loudine Heunis
Garden Route
Qualifications
- MSc (Early Childhood Research) Leipzig University (to be conferred)
- MA in Childhood & Youth (Open University of the UK)
- B(Hons) Psychology (Unisa)
- BA Psychology (Unisa)
- TEFL (mytefl & TESOLSA)
- Diploma in Journalism & Multi-media (CitiVarsity)
Experience
- Academic & commercial proofreader and editor
- Webzine Editor-in Chief
- Teneo Online School tutor
- Study Methods workshop designer, facilitator and presenter
- English instructor (from pre-school to business English)
- English lecturer (Mokpo National University, 2015 – 2017)
- English teacher (Inpyeong Middle School, 2011 – 2015)
- KOTESOL regional chapter leadership (2014)
- KOTESOL regional chapter presentation: dyslexia in the EFL classroom (2014)
- KOTESOL member (2013 – 2015)
- English tutor/home-schooling instructor (2011)
- Au Pair (2003 – 2011)
About Loudine
I first became fascinated with psychology in my early teens, when I started reading my father’s psychology textbooks. He is a retired educational psychologist, and I remember watching him mark assessment tests when I was very young, and having countless questions about what he was doing! Fast-forward to my mid-twenties, when I was working as an au pair for a wonderful family in Cape Town. I enrolled at Unisa and completed my BA degree in psychology, after which I was accepted into the government English teaching programme in South Korea. I spent the next 6 ½ years teaching English to students of all levels, from teenagers with learning and psycho-social challenges in mainstream inclusive classes to advanced discussion classes at the university level and teaching adults after hours. I finished my B(Hons) degree in psychology while in Korea, and then proceeded with an MA degree in child studies from the Open University of the U.K.
It was during my undergraduate degrees that I discovered my passion for early childhood development and education. I am fascinated by how young children learn and make sense of the world as it unfolds around them. Each learner truly is unique, as is their way of understanding, learning and connecting concepts, and forming their own worldview. I am committed to learning as much as I can about the ways in which different people learn, and how they work with their own abilities and challenges to acquire knowledge and skills.
While living in South Korea, I started doing freelance academic editing. I also edited Melissa’s handwriting book and helped her prepare it for publishing. I moved to Germany in 2018 to pursue my MSc in Early Childhood Research at Leipzig University and worked as a journalist and eventually as Editor-in-Chief of a webzine. Upon my return to South Africa, I started working as an academic editor for an Australian platform offering proofreading and writing support and a small, independent American academic research company.
I am thrilled to be back with EduHelp in the capacity of Academic & Integrative Support Coach. I offer academic and integrative support learning sessions, one-on-one academic writing support and coaching sessions and an editing service where post-grad, undergrad and high school students can submit their work for proofreading and editing. I specialise in coaching effective study methods, exam preparation, time and stress management, and am currently training as a Specialist Wellness Counsellor. Academic writing and study methods workshops are in the pipeline and will be offered from early 2025. All my services are available online or in-person. I am excited to share my love of language, research and writing and my experience in child and adolescent education and development with students of all ages and abilities!