
Sharing: Losse Rosten, Creation facilitator, shows some of their material to participants
Creation, a Norwegian organisation, hosted a two-day teacher workshop for daycare centres
Shumikazi Kwinana
Teachers and caregivers in the heart of Orange Farm, a sprawling township located 42 kilometres from Johannesburg’s city centre, were overjoyed to receive some special attention last month.
Creation, an organisation from Norway that specialises in early learning, led a teacher-training workshop to empower 91 women, aged 19 to 65, with essential skills for the early childhood development (ECD) classroom.
The dedicated women came from 45 daycare centres to attend the sessions held at the Ebenezer Church, which were aimed at addressing the pressing need to strengthen children’s value systems in a community grappling with intergenerational poverty and social deprivation.
Values last a lifetime
According to Losse Rosten, Creation facilitator: “A good set of values, social competence, and relational skills learned in early childhood will last a lifetime and determine how they [children] live their lives. We believe that some values and attitudes support wise choices.”
In a community such as Orange Farm, where children often do not have the education or value system to avoid social ills, crime, violence, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy prevail. The Creation training served to equip teachers with tools that help to instill important virtues such as love, respect, self-worth and empathy in young minds as well as ways to teach numeracy and literacy skills.
The Creation trainers spent the two days showing caregivers how to use their materials to teach children simple ways of interacting.
Pilot programme
The workshop is the start of a 12-month pilot programme to support the pre-schools in integrating the training into the curriculum through mentorship and coaching.
“We hope to learn from these communities and adapt the programme to fit the local environment,” said Precious Msimango, ForAfrika’s Community Development Officer.
“ForAfrika and Creation have started a new generation through this education,” remarked one teacher, noting the significance of the programme. Indeed, it is hoped that the impact will extend beyond the classroom, helping to shape the future of Orange Farm citizens.
Although challenges still persist – with over 200 daycare centres in Orange Farm needing sustained support and intervention – by sharing skills with caregivers and teachers, it is hoped that they will share these with their fellow teachers and that children can be inspired to create a brighter future for themselves and others.
Shumikazi Kwinana is Programmes Director for South Africa