We are throwing out another anchor of
hope in Zola 3
Abraham Kriel Childcare in partnership with the Department of Social Development and the Methodist Church of South Africa has combined forces to establish a drop-in centre for 100 very needy and vulnerable children in the Zola area. Abraham Kriel Childcare brings suitable experience, infrastructure and management skills to the programme, whilst the DSD provides a grant of R5 per child per day and the Methodist Church provides the facilities and spiritual guidance and the result is a Drop-in centre in Zola 3.
Through needs analysis in that particular area we found that many children in the Zola area are in desperate need of this kind of service. The department of Social Services requested Abraham Kriel Childcare to expand their services to the community by including a 100 more children. Together with the 200 children, whose services are sponsored by Steinhoff Africa, the total number of children now served in this area comes to 300.
A Drop-in centre is a centre that provides non-residential day care to children. These centres are centrally situated near the children’s homes/shacks and schools. Children will receive breakfast and lunch here and each child will also receive 6 sandwiches per day.
A Drop-in centre can also be described as an ear, an eye and a helping hand. The centre operates 6 days a week and is run by an auxiliary social worker and a team of volunteers that provide assistance, information, advice and compassion.
Together these partners provide an anchor of hope
Revolutionary Impact School at Langlaagte a first for SA
A school at Langlaagte? You heard correctly. This obviously begs the question, what was AKC thinking when they started a school? Especially with the focus on integrating children into society.
The impact school opened in January at an estimated running cost of R504 000 a year. Only 40 children will attend the school at any given time. This is the first time that a school such as this has been established in South Africa and the concept is revolutionary.
The impetus for the initiative lies in the anatomy of the seriously traumatised child. For years we have been aware of the disruption caused by some of our children in mainstream schools. What is more, we cringe at these children’s chronic underperformance. Most of the children involved have learning disabilities, an inability to concentrate and extremely poor impulse control – in short, the most innocent of circumstances can set off an impulse in the child’s brain that can cause the child to regress to the original experience of trauma. Children who are identified as needing special treatment tend to act extremely disruptively, aggressively and even violently. Such incidents have already taken place at the Langlaagte impact school. But the big difference is that a therapist is immediately available to mitigate the situation.
The impact school provides good education and intensive treatment for these children. Four classes exist that accommodate boys and girls, and junior and senior learners, respectively. Classes take place daily and alternate between morning and afternoon sessions to accommodate therapy. Two teachers and two assistants are employed. The primary and high school components are registered as satellites at Jim Fouché Primary School and Vorentoe High School, respectively, and teaching aids are provided by these two schools. However, three children are learning at their own pace, using the Brainline programme. The children are adapting well and while the programme is not without its own challenges, we are encouraged by early feedback.
Children should not remain in specialist care or in the impact school indefinitely. As soon as they are ready to leave the programme, they will be prepared over a period of three months for their return to a mainstream school. Ideally, the children will not remain in the programme for longer than three years.
This is an expensive programme. However, we believe it to be in the best interests of both the children and those around them. We trust our supporters will join us in believing in, praying for and working towards the success of this initiative.
Some of our community support programmes include:
The Steinhoff Extended Family Programme: This programme provides support to HIV/Aids-affected, child-headed families
Johanna Malan Early Childhood Development Centre: This centre focuses on providing preschoolers in Yeoville with a solid education foundation
Ernest Buti Crèche: A childcare facility in Emdeni
