Celebrations and Planting Trees

  The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not [necessarily] expect to sit (Nelson Henderson)

On the 23^rd March I celebrated my 70^th birthday and our first year of Reading Eggs at the Kameeldrift Early Learning Centre. It was a festive morning with lots of singing by the children cheered on by the principal, Lilly Ledwaba. I am grateful to this school which has given me access to the wonderworld of small children for the past year: their openness, their playfulness, the trusting way in which they throw themselves at you …

Kamcare (www.kamcare. org), under whose umbrella we function, received a grant from the Beeld Kinderfonds (Children’s Fund) and the reading programme will benefit from it. Beeld is one of the prominent Afrikaans newspapers in South Africa. The Kinderfonds (www.beeldkinderfonds.co.za) is an annual fund raising of which the proceeds go to various charities and projects aimed at children. The grant enables us to pay for the considerable amount of data we need and to hire three young teaching assistants. They play an important part in our operation and we use the opportunity to share our vision, insight and experience with them.They are

Jaqueline Mashitisho who has been with the reading programme since its start and already a real pro. Jaqueline is a full-time Kamcare worker and is involved with all its different programmes for children. She is currently enrolled in a part-time study course for social auxiliary workers.

 

Koos Kheswa grew up on a farm in the Leeuwfontein area and is an alumnus of the school. Koos wants to become a lawyer and his participation in the programme helps him to save money for his study plans. He is a natural teacher and is pleasantly surprised to see what fun learning can be if it is combined with good technology and a caring environment.

 

Suzen Ngobeni is the mother of Boipelo, one of the Leeuwfontein grade 1s. Suzen would like to become a teacher and sees the Reading Eggs experience as a good opportunity to learn more about how children learn and the way computers can be used in education. She is serious about motherhood and the role parents can play in their children’s education and the well being of a school.