West Coast Pre-school Visit
Children Desperately Need Basic Amenities West Coast, South Africa
The needs for West Coast preschools are:
Eikevlei - 36 preschool children
Lutzville Wes - 40 preschool children
Bo Vaalkrans - 60-80 children of which 36 preschool age children
Spoortjieskool, Koekenaap - 40 preschool children Prefab container must be moved to their land and they need to set up a community kitchen and a food garden.
Klipheuwel preschool, Nuwerus - 30 preschool children?
The following report was complied by Hedwich Tulp after completing a field trip with the CWD up the West Coast, South Africa. Margie was present and thought you would appreciate the feed back.
The ripple effects of TB, HIV/Aids, poverty and alcoholism (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, FAS) have caused a crisis in the rural area of the Western Cape. As a result more and more babies and young children have lost traditional child-protection mechanisms. Children on farms are now among the most vulnerable people in our society. Their extreme vulnerability exposes them to a great number of social ills, which gives them a great developmental disadvantage.
On our visit to 5 preschools and one primary school in the Matzikame District (West Coast) we realized the devastating effect of alcohol abuse. Children's lives are permanently altered by alcohol (through FAS) and alcohol consumption. Unbelievably they were encouraged by their parents to drink at a young age or they themselves started drinking due to negligence, hunger and boredom. Some of these children walk bare footed to school daily just so they can have a meal and a little stimulation. Sometimes they walk home hungry and some times they can't come to school on a Monday because the only set of clothing they have is wet.
"Teachers and pre-school staff haven't learned how to deal with FAS", says CWD Early Childhood Development-coordinator Rebecca Davids who supports the 5 pre-schools in this area. "You will have to repeat things over and over for these kids, they forget easily. Patience is the key with these children. We should actually design a course to teach teachers how to deal with children with FAS", says Davids.
Many children on farms have little or no direct access to educational facilities. They have to either travel long distances to public schools or go to farm-schools set up on neighboring farms. Rebecca Davids: "When visiting a preschool in Nuwerus, one child couldn't come to preschool, because their clothes were washed and were still wet. The child didn't have other clothes, so the child stayed home."
According to Davids there is little or no access to Early Childhood Development facilities to these marginalized children. In many cases, parents are not able to afford minimal school fees (one school quoted only R70/year for school fees), clothing, food, transport therefore children drop out or the schools suffer from inadequate funds.
The staff at these pre-schools show a great deal of dedication and commitment, educating children in these increasingly difficult environments; where they suffer from a lack of access to basic facilities such as books and toys, basic items such as chairs, tables and most importantly food. These things are all essential for learning but none are a given at any of these centers. Where staff can, they pay for food, clothes and stationery out of their own pocket. "What do you do if children haven't had paper for a week to write on?" asks pre-school principal Corrie in Eikevlei, near the town of Klawer. These teachers carry many burdens and often need to teach more than one grade at the same time. "We have three grades in one class. And I am the principal and teacher in one", shares Bernie Martin from Klipheuwel primary school in Nuwerus.
Malnutrition is a big problem and children cannot reach their full physical, intellectual and mental potential without adequate sustenance. "We didn't have food for the 40 children today, and that means that most of the kids will only have a meal tomorrow again. Where we can, we are inventive", says a preschool teacher in Lutzville Wes. Kitchens are not guarantee and where they are available it is not a foregone conclusion that the preschool children can access the food made in these community kitchens. "The kitchen sells a meal for R1 to the poor, but if the school doesn't pay- no matter how poor they are- we don't give the children food", was the comment of one of the kitchen operators in Lutzville Wes.
"This is what happens in an area of grinding poverty", says Davids. "It's fighting for survival here."
It is clear that without greater access or upgrading of current pre-schools and schools it is unlikely that these children will have any economic growth opportunities later on in life. These schools are some of the most needy in our country. The CWD is working hard towards change and improving the quality of life and future for these farm children.
The current reality can be brought back to the days of the dop system- the system where farmers paid a portion of the workers' wages in wine or allowed workers to buy wine on credit. The system was officially abolished in 1961 but its use only declined in the nineties, and it continued thereafter in a clandestine way despite the toll on children.
