Educating the Thabang Children

2020 is halfway through! Thabang Children’s Project is still working on the  holistic development of all its children.

At Thabang we try to include many different activities.

Besides the formal schooling at  different schools in the area; we provide opportunities to develop their academic component at home. This we do via part time teachers and volunteers.

During  special outings, the children also learn about our amazing wildlife and their importance in our bushveld area. They learn about conservation and the need to protect our wildlife.

The Thabang children are encouraged to exercise, play soccer, netball and have outdoor fun. Physical activity is treasured, and everyone is compelled to join in. 

The cultural aspect is also important. Cultural activities include playing the Marimba, painting, drawing and dancing.

LOCK-DOWN

During the Lock-down, the children at the Child & Youth Care centre could continue with some of these activities on site.

A donation of tablets has been an extra bonus in the Covid-19 pandemic. Thabang has helped each child do extra schoolwork at the home during this period. All staff have been involved to assist all the grades from grade R to grade 12.

Outside of the Child & Youth Care Centre, Thabang has a Drop in Centre in the informal settlement of Smash Block. Here, 45 very needy school children pop in to receive a cooked and nutritious meal before receiving help with their schoolwork and doing extra mural activities.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the children are not allowed to attend the  Drop in Centre. But these children are then not receiving their main meal of the day. So, Thabang raised funds to supply food parcels to the needy households of these children. Donors were generous and Thabang could even help extra households which were identified as being in need.

THANK YOU TO ALL DONORS WHO SUPPORTED OUR WORK IN SERVING THE HUNGRY

Over the past couple of months, Thabang has been busy with various celebrations:

Celebrating the success stories of school pupils: 

- Miss Grd 11 received the prize for the most improved learner for the year of 2019!                          She will now be in Matric/ Grd 12 this new year.

- Miss Grd 10, received the best learner in Life Skills and she was once again chosen to be the Head Girl of her school for 2020. The principal said that she is a fantastic role model and deserves to be the Head Girl again- three years in a row!

- Master Grd 8 learner earned his good marks for which he worked. He was chosen to go on a specific tour with other pupils who had performed in Life Orientation.

 - Four of our Primary school children achieved high marks on their reports. Their diligence paid off.

-Master Grd 2, shared a trophy for being the best Grd 2 in arithmetic.

- Master and Miss Grd RR twins, graduated from their Early Childhood Development Centre and will be attending Grd R at the local Primary school.

Celebrating the success stories of post matric and past residents of Thabang:

- Mr M, completed his N5 level in Mechanical Engineering at TVET College. He then studied for a couple of months at a local mine. He is soon to go for a learnership with Anglo American in Randfontein. We are proud of his diligence and achievements.

- Miss N, has completed one year of her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Venda. After many challenges and adaptions far away from Thabang, she has come out strong and ready for her second year. 

Both of these ex- Thabang residents keep in constant contact with us. We support them however we can; through fundraising for them and through life skills guidance and emotional care.

Celebrating Christmas

At the Child & Youth Care Centre, a group of volunteers held a Christmas function for the children. Local residents blessed each child with specially selected items for each Christmas box.

At  the informal settlement of Smasher Block, about 340 children from the community attended the Christmas function. Some of the local supermarkets contributed cakes, hot dogs and juices for the children. A separate group of volunteers entertained the children and reminded them about the meaning of Christmas. For most of these children, this will be the only celebration they will have.

The children who attend the Drop in Centre at Smasher Block on a daily basis for support, each received a Christmas gift of new clothes. These 45 children were identified as vulnerable and therefore received special support throughout the year of 2019.

The New Year of 2020

As the new year has begun, we look forward to the progress ahead of us. We aim to connect with more volunteers and outsiders who want to partner with us to make a difference in our rural community.

We hope to support a local farm school with more volunteers as well; this will also benefit our children attending that school.

Together with partners we are stronger and more effective. Partner with us and make a difference!