Lunchbox Project
So many needy toddlers will not develop optimally due to physical, emotional and spiritual neglect. Consequently, their formal education will start off with a developmental deficit. However, this developmental deficit could, for the most part, be made up!
A lot of parents in poor communities are forced to work. They cannot afford nursery school fees and the toddlers are placed in the care of one of the community’s unemployed mothers. As a result, one of the goals of the Lunchbox Project is to train women in these communities in child and day-care.
Helping Hand research indicated that toddlers from poor communities commonly requires specialised help and remedial services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychological help – a luxury which these parents cannot afford. A significant need for social services exists to evaluate these children in time. The proper training of care-givers could address many of the developmental problems of toddlers precautionary.
The tragic reality of toddlers who attend nursery schools is that the meal they receive from the school is probably going to be their only meal for the day.
Helping Hand therefore has identified certain deficiencies in the holistic development of needy toddlers which we would like to address through the National Lunchbox Project:
1. Training of care-givers
The first 20 women were trained in Pretoria during 2010 in cooperation with the Stigting vir Bemagtiging deur Afrikaans (SBA). The SBA course is developed from the needs of poor Afrikaans speaking women in the Western Cape. The programme focuses on their personal development in a non-intimidating manner, and empowers them and increases their self-confidence as parents.
The value of the course is reflected in the pride in which these mothers receive their certificates during the first certificate ceremony in November 2010.
The training also serves as a job creation project since the women are able to register their own day-care facilities at the end of the 30 weeks’ training. The first Helping Hand Day-Care Centre will be launched in 2011 with the support of Helping Hand’s social worker.
Ester Steyn (H.E.D. specialising in Primary Education and writer of Kinderkrag), will present the SBA course in Pretoria in 2011 for a group of 30 women. It is also planned to present Steyn’s one day Kinderkrag (Power of Children) short course to poor Afrikaans nursery schools in at least three other provinces.
2. Feeding schemes
Helping Hand will commence with feeding schemes in at least ten poor Afrikaans nursery schools countrywide. The schools are identified from our national research and are then linked to a Helping Hand branch that will accept responsibility for the management of the funds and food voucher for the school.
The project is done in cooperation with AECYC (The Association for the Education and Care of Young Children).
3. Social services
Helping Hand will appoint its own social worker in 2011 to provide immediate assistance to children in need. Toddlers’ requirements are currently not getting attention due to the affordability and access to these specialised services.
4. Research:
Research is done in cooperation with North West University and involves equipping parents to get their children school ready. Afrikaans parents from all communities will profit from this research. The results will also provide practical suggestions to Helping Hand for further implementation.
5. Culture enrichment
Anna Rudolph project: Anna Rudolph has been South Africa’s most prominent writer of songs for toddlers. As part of the project, sheet music is printed and will be distributed to poor Afrikaans nursery and primary schools along with 1000 CDs containing 50 songs. The teacher is also trained to apply the CD and book accurately.
6. Community involvement
The project provides a creative platform for volunteers to adopt a nursery school on their own initiative and to provide solutions to the school’s specific needs whether it is improving the infrastructure or educational material.
Needy and privileged communities across South Africa could become involved to make educational material for nursery schools by hand. Educational material includes play-dough, wooden blocks, puzzles, form and colour recognition posters and material for thread work. Crates could be filled with balls and books and distributed at schools which qualify for the project.
Colour-in books, reading books and educational CD’s can be collected and donated.
Helping Hand purchased 500 colour-in books with an educational story which were distributed during 2010 as part of the project.
Volunteers can start a library with educational toys or reading books, a bare wall or jungle gym or a bicycle track could be painted and old black kickbikes can be collected.
