A Morning in Tembisa
by Miss Crichton
On Wednesday (24 July 2013) I spent a very interesting morning in the company of Leona Scheepers of the Community Outreach Program. We went into Tembisa, into some of
the poorest areas and the squatter camps, to deliver vegetables, fruit and other items needed by a few of the many nursery schools and day-care centers.
These little schools can be found everywhere, some within three or four blocks from each other! Some are converted homes, others are clusters of shacks but all are clean, neat and the children well looked after. Leona and members of COP run a teacher training program for the owners and teachers of these schools.
We spent some time with Jabulani and his mother Lindiwe in their home. Jabulani was one of the first recipients of a wheelchair from our bread tags for wheelchairs drive. He is now able to do more activities outdoors and go to church with his family.
COP have a community center in Tembisa where they do their training courses and involve other members of the community in different activities. Once a week the Gogos of the area get together to make blankets out of crochet squares. The squares are made in the USA and sent out to South Africa by the suitcase full! The first blanket each gogo completes she can keep. The other blankets she makes go to care centers for children in the area.
Our last stop was a large nursery school in the Winnie Mandela Settlement which caters for about 180 children from babies to grade R. What a school!