Pebbles Project Injabulo
is raising funds for Pebbles Project (more information below) by initially selling
washable calico shopping bags. We have had these bags made in England and all
the profits from the sale of these bags will go back to Pebbles.
The bags
are ideal to fold up and keep in your handbag or even your jacket pocket so that
when you are out shopping you don't need to keep using plastic carriers (let's
do our bit to save the planet as well). We are sure that there will be many uses
for them other than a shopper and we would love to hear about how you use yours.
We
only need £120 to sponsor a child for a year at Pebbles but we need your
help to sell as many as possible. If you would like to purchase
a bag the cost is £3.50 and there is a 50p charge for post and packing.
To start the ball rolling we have donated money that we would spend on some
Christmas gifts to the project and will soon have news of the first child that
we are sponsoring.
Chrissie met Sophia Warner, founder of Pebbles Project
and visited 3 crèches during her visit.
Little Yonela, (October
2007 update) the first little girl that we are sponsoring, attends Villiera
crèche and the photographs show her and her friends. The children were
initially shy but soon got over their shyness and quite happily sang nursery rhymes
in English (their mother tongues are Afrikaans and Xhosa).
Bellevue crèche
received a makeover during a "volunteer weekend" and is now a beautiful
crèche with a sleeping room for the babies and space for all the children
to play. Here there is some land available that Sophia would like to be able to
utilise for an after school club. If anyone wants to donate some football kit
please get in touch!
The other crèche that Chrissie visited was Luthando
Day Centre in Kayamandi township. At the moment this is little more than a single
room and Florence cares for many children here with little resources. Pebbles
are working to secure larger premises that they can convert into a proper crèche
with all the resources to encourage and educate the children.
After seeing
just three of the crèches that Pebbles are working with, the difference
that they are making to the lives of these children is very obvious. Sophia is
passionate about the project and has so many ideas for the future.
It is a
pleasure to know that we are involved and we shall be doing more throughout the
year to help.
Misande
is three years old and attends the Villiera crèche. Misande was born physically
and mentally disabled and as such her father left her soon after her birth. She
is looked after well by her mother, who is known to be a very loving and friendly
person.
Misande lives with her mother in a nearby location called Blokkombos.
They live in the garden of another lady that works on the farm. It is a single
roomed informal dwelling.
When she began at the crèche, Misande was
unable to walk and talk and was very afraid of new people. We are delighted with
the progress she has made and she has come on in leaps and bounds. She is currently
learning to walk properly and is enjoying the freedom of movement so much that
is has become quite a challenge to keep her in one spot for very long. She has
become a happy and confident child who is no longer scared of new people and who
tries very hard to participate in all crèche activities. Singing is one
of her favourite activities and although she finds it difficult to pronounce some
the words, she is an extremely enthusiastic participant at all singing sessions.
Misande has a well developed sense of understanding. She listens to and obeys
instructions and works really hard in all crèche activities. However, because
of her slow start in life she is developmentally behind the other children at
the crèche and still struggles to communicate clearly. As such, she is
receiving special support and help from an occupational therapist, as well as
Jo from the Pebbles Team. We are looking forward to seeing how she progresses
over the next few months.
If you would like to make a donation or learn more about
Pebbles their website address is www.pebblesproject.co.za
and you can donate at:
Barclays Bank, Falmouth branch Branch code: 20-87-94
Account name: Pebbles Project Account number 709 780 35
The Pebbles Project will initially
be working in two main communities: the wine growing region around Stellenbosch,
and the township of Lwandle, which is located approximately 20km outside Stellenbosch.
Recent research by medical doctors, community researchers and the founder of Pebbles
has identified:
·
Many children living in the wine growing region of the
Western Cape of South Africa show some degree of special educational needs.
· These special needs may be as a result of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(FASD), other mental disability or learning difficulty, neglect, lack of stimulation
or simply poverty.
· Historically, wine farm workers were paid a proportion
of their wages in wine (the 'dop' system), which has resulted in a culture of
alcohol mis-use and the associated community problems.
· South Africa
has the highest numbers of children born with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in
the world, 36 times higher than in the UK.
· For every child with FAS,
it is estimated that 3 others have Foetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), where the child
does not display the distinctive facial features of a FAS child, but still can
suffer from learning difficulties and behavioural problems. Please see the page
on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder for more information.
· A study
of wine farm crèches and primary schools has shown that approximately 25%
of children have some kind of learning difficulty.
· There is currently
little available training and support for crèche workers or teachers in
these communities.
· Every crèche worker and teacher interviewed
requested additional training in dealing with special educational needs.
·
Many of the children in the identified crèches sit on the concrete floor
of a shack, with no toys, no books and no learning materials.
· Primary
school classes can have as many as 60 children per class to one teacher, many
of whom have no experience of pre-school learning.
· Many families
live in desperate poverty and cannot afford to send their child to a crèche
or pre-school facility, let alone buy uniforms, shoes or books.
· Some
children begin primary school at the age of 6 unable to hold a pencil or sit in
a classroom because of a lack of pre-school experience.
· Without
the support offered by The Pebbles Project most of these children will not succeed
in Primary School or reach matriculation at the age of 18
