March 2008 newsletter and some photos
By Glenda Howieson - Director, April 02, 2008 07:20 PM
We would like to share with you our March 2008 newsletter and some new photos of our projects.
HATCH, MATCH AND DISPATCH
2008 has seen Phakamisa ‘hatching, matching and dispatching’- to ensure we remain relevant to the communities we
seek to serve, within our South African context.
EDUCARE:
Hatch: A brand new, Childminders Course, for those teaching 0-3 year old children, has been ‘hatched’ by Elaine Green. This is in response to the dire need observed by our Educare monitors, for specific training in this neglected area of education and was confirmed by a request for training to Phakamisa, from the Child Welfare Department social workers.
Match: Cathy Ferguson has joined our staff as a perfectly ‘matched’ trainer for the original Level 1 Educare Teacher Training Course where teachers of 4-6 year old children receive tuition.
Dispatch: Educare training ‘dispatches’ of the aimless, boring days in some so-called educare centres or pre-schools, transforming them to environments where children are actively involved in learning with their teachers, who are motivated, directed and resourced!
PSYCHOMOTOR:
Hatch: Elaine Osborn spent 18months studying psychomotor- a new approach to education -where emotional wholeness and stability is facilitated through physical development and experiential learning. Until now, this model has only been used in very affluent educational settings, but from the beginning of 2008, Phakamisa has been offering it to children from the most deprived backgrounds- making it a pilot psychomotor project! Three of our wandering teacher classes are transported to Pinetown once a week for their psychomotor experience. It has been gratifying to observe the rapid development of the children already, as they benefit from this innovative approach. A second advantage to having children at Phakamisa- aside of the joy of hearing their happy voices and laughter drifting through the office- is that our Educare teacher trainees are able to observe firsthand how to run a pre- school! What a life-giving ‘hatchling’ Psychomotor is!
Match: Lindiwe Mhlongo, the wandering teachers and volunteers are capably assisting Elaine. It seems this is a ‘match’ made in heaven!
Dispatch: Psychomotor will provide a means for very young, orphaned and destitute children to ‘dispatch’ of their fear, frustration, grief, pain and aggression and learn a coping skill that will equip them for life!
CAREGIVERS:
Hatch: Our new training kitchen is hugely popular with the caregivers. Beauty Msomi is teaching them how to cook and pickle the vegetables from their gardens, in nutritious and tempting ways. They are also learning to bake scones and sausage rolls to sell and so support their orphans. This is ‘hatching’ a whole new mindset, lifestyle and skill!
Match: The match/ link between the vegetable garden production and the kitchen is a strong incentive to the caregivers, to work even harder in their organic gardens.
Dispatch: Healthy eating habits will ‘dispatch’ of malnutrition, boost immune systems and enable little brains to absorb far more of what they are being taught!
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT:
Hatch: Our ‘Factory’ ‘hatched’ last year, as several caregivers began sewing dressing up/fantasy clothes, graduation gowns and a variety of other items for orders.
Match: This year we have matched the fledgling Factory with the skill, creativity and enthusiasm of Hilary Coombe. Along with Alexia Zuma, she will develop the talents of the Caregiver seamstresses and extend the range of the Factory. Hilary has also assumed responsibility for the beadwork from Margaret Briggs, who was initially responsible for its ‘hatching and matching’.
Dispatch: Hilary and her team are waiting to ‘dispatch’ sewing and beadwork orders around the world or to your doorstep. Just look at our website www.phakamisa.org for the exciting range or pop in to visit us!
THOLUTHANDO (HIV AIDS support group):
Hatch; In July 2006 several HIV+ve, lonely, rejected, hopeless people cautiously met together for the first time.
Match: Through praying and playing; learning and exercising; and celebrating life together, they have grown to trust each other and live life positively!
Dispatch: They are now reaching out into their communities, ‘dispatching’ education on HIV AIDS- and dispelling myths and ignorance- building bridges of reconciliation and non judgement.
By July, they will also be ‘dispatching’ orders of baked items like birthday cakes, scones and biscuits, after lessons in the training kitchen!
PARTNERS:
You, our partners, have allowed us to ‘hatch’ new dreams by ‘matching’ your resources with us so we can ‘dispatch’ opportunities, hope and love to those who need it most!
May hope continue to ‘hatch’ in your heart; may your resources continue to be ‘matched’ to needs and may the gratitude of the recipients be ‘dispatched’ to you in the most surprising ways.
Please also enjoy our newest photos below and in the photo gallery.
With love and appreciation from all at Phakamisa.
Glenda Howieson March 2008
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