Please enjoy reading about some of the highlights from the year so far:
As a supporter of Singakwenza, you will be delighted to know that we are currently providing training and mentorship to 73 practitioners in 25 creches for over 1 000 children! To date in 2022, we have run 28 Waste2Toys Training workshops, teaching 495 caregivers about the importance of developing early learning skills and how to make their own toys for the 8 478 children in their care.
This year we are focusing on developing a more rigorous Monitoring and Evaluation process to carefully record the impact that our program is having on both the practitioners and the children. We are using an assessment tool, called the Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM), which is a reliable, valid, standardised instrument for the measurement of ECD programme effectiveness for children in the year before Grade R. It was developed to align with the South African curriculum and early learning standards, and is designed to be relatively inexpensive to administer (kit, tablet scoring, short administration time and does not need registered psychometrists). Currently, it is being used for large national studies, as well as for ECD providers to monitor and, if necessary, adjust their early learning programs. We are working together with well-respected academics in the ECD field who are linked to the University of Cape Town to ensure that all the correct protocols are followed, and the data is accurately recorded and analysed. Two of our trainers were given the opportunity to undergo the assessors’ training in January, and they completed the baseline assessments of the randomly selected group of children that fall within the correct age range in February. These assessments will be repeated with the same children in November. We are looking forward to seeing where the strengths and weaknesses of the Singakwenza program are so that we can adapt to what needs to be changed and celebrate what is working well. We will share these results with you at the end of the year.
With the function shift of the ECD sector from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE), a number of our crèches have had visits from the DBE to see what they are currently offering their children. One of our crèches in Msobotsheni, near Weenen, received a visit recently, and the DBE official was so impressed with what he saw when observing Mam Nokulunga implementing the Singakwenza program that he asked her to please help other practitioners in the area to do what she is doing too. She is now planning how she can share the knowledge and skills that she has gained, as she has seen how a simple daily program of play, with materials she can make herself, can make such a significant difference to her children. This is a lady who, one year ago, saw herself as a babysitter whose sole purpose was to keep the children safe and fed.
We know that we are not able to be all things for all people, so we value collaborating with other organisations that complement the work we do. We collaborate with government departments to provide health assistance, therapy and placement for those who need special education, and we collaborate with other NGOs that offer support in a way that we do not have the capacity for. Some of our most successful NGO collaborations have been with WordWorks, an early literacy program; Book Dash, a supplier of ethnically relevant children’s books in isiZulu that donates regularly to both our creches and to the children to take home; Siphakeme and Caversham Education Institute, who both offer formal qualifications in ECD; and Dlalanathi, an organisation focussed on strengthening support systems within communities. Recently we sent 12 of our practitioners on the Dlalanathi “Play for Communication” course, which is a 3-day workshop. During this time, the participants learnt how to sew their doll out of felt, and while they were doing this, the facilitator asked questions that guided the participants to think about their own experiences as a child – of play, challenges, of nurturing. Through this deep and meaningful process, the participants started to recognise the vitally important role that they play for the children in their care and how they can break the cycles that they experienced as children. Our trainers have reported that this training has had a profound effect on their practitioners, with many of the women completely changing the way that they speak to and interact with the children in their creche because of this course
Building relationships is at the heart of all we do. Our main role is to foster and encourage the love and care that the practitioners have for their pupils, as creating a nurturing environment is the first step in creating a learning environment. According to the Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University, "Child-adult relationships that are responsive and attentive—with lots of back and forth interactions—build a strong foundation in a child’s brain for all future learning and development. This is called ‘serve and return’ and it takes two to play." It is so exciting to see these relationships developing as the practitioners invest more of themselves in their little ones, and the information and guidance that Robyn, our Occupational Therapist (OT) has provided to the practitioners, has ensured that little ones with challenges are treated with the same respect and care as those without. Children with disabilities are often feared and treated badly out of ignorance, so Robyn’s gentle guidance has played a critical role in the acceptance of children without limbs, with cerebral palsy, with autism, and other disabilities that the practitioners face.
Have you decided what to do on Mandela Day?
We currently have 25 creches in our program and the backpacks belonging to the 1 092 children in these creches take up a LOT of floor space in the classrooms! This Mandela Day we would like to organise robust hooks to be installed in each creche to give the children more space to play. R67 gives 3 children a place to put their bags, so if you would like to help, you can donate via Zapper or contact us for banking details.
Have you linked your Woolworths or MySchool card yet?
This is a way you can support our work in Early Childhood Education without it costing you any extra. Click here to sign up or add Singakwenza as another beneficiary (you can have up to 3) on your existing card. https://www.myschool.co.za/beneficiaries/beneficiary-search/
Oceans 8 Charity Swim
We are so excited to be part of this inaugural fundraising event! If you would like to swim a mile or more for charity or know anyone else who would like to, then please enter the Oceans 8 Charity Swim taking place on 4 and 5 (6) November 2022. Find more details here: www.oceans8swim.co.za
Here is an interesting article about Singakwenza in the Daily Maverick which you might enjoy: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-06-29-from-waste-to-toys-creating-playthings-from-recyclables-the-way-to-grow-npo/
Thank you so much for your support. Our team cannot do what we do without people like you.
Kind regards
The Singakwenza Team
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