Motivation, Passion & Hope created

for ECD Centre’s in Orange Farms

Evaton

During the month of April 2021 sponsorship received from BSI

Steel enabled Lusa Community Chest to facilitate the Gr8Start Early
Childhood Development Program for a number of ECD Centre’s in
Orange Farms Evaton.

Effective teaching requires education and care to be integrated; with learning,

development, and experiences for children inter-related. Well-developed ECD programs
such as our Gr8Start program provides just such integrated learning.

The program explores activities that equip educators to stimulate, develop and test the social,
emotional and physical intelligence of young children. It enables educators to monitor and
evaluate motor development, hearing and listening skills, eye movements and visual
processes as well as the gross motor and fine motor skills in pre-school children to prepare
for and ensure school readiness. Gr8Start also assists the early childhood educators to re-
evaluate their educational practices, beliefs, understanding, and attitudes with regards to the
vital role they play in developing well balanced, school ready children by creating an
environment conducive to learning.

The Training

The facilitation of the Gr8Start Program took place over 4 days at the ECD Forum centre in
Evaton. 12 principals of 12 ECD centres from the Orange Farm- Evaton community
participated in the hands-on, practical and interactive course. The educators were taught how
to use recyclable materials to prepare teaching aids (such as skipping ropes, counting blocks,
art aprons etc) and testing instruments for use in their lessons as well as to enhance their
classroom environment to stimulate creativity and learning. The educators each received
their own learner manual and a basic start-up kit of materials required to create all the
essential teaching and evaluation aids.

In the programme, time was also allocated to personal development and introspection to
allow the educators opportunities to explore who they really are, and why they have taken
on the tasks of being ECD educators. Educators are also made aware that every child (just as
they are), is uniquely created with their own special temperament, personality and character
and as such their learning environments and the way the educators interact with the learners
should take all this into account.
The Impact

The ECD educators have been upskilled with practical knowledge that they can apply to
their teaching methods and tools and techniques that they can use to create environments
that stimulate learning in fun and interesting ways. It is hoped that through the Gr8Start
training the teaching environments at the ECD centres will be enhanced and that the ECD
educators will have recognised the significance of their roles in preparing children for
schooling success.
Testimonies from Principals of ECD Centre’s, who attended this programme:
It is with joy that we share a few of the testimonials of how the lives of these principals
were impacted and how the training will continue to impact future educators and the
children and their families and result in change within the greater community.

1. Ester: I am very excited to implement everything that I have learned from this course
to my ECD centre. I learned about different types of learners in one class and how to
effectively teach them all. I also learned the difference of hearing and listening, in
order for children to really understand what you are teaching them. I appreciate
what Lusa Community Chest did for me and how it changed my life.
2. Mary: I am in my sixties and was not very enthusiastic about my work anymore. It
feels like this training lifted a burden off my shoulders, and made a huge difference
in my life, I will be enjoying working with children again. This course has re-
awakened my passion and love for early childhood development again. Thank you
for that.
3. Phista: During the Gr8Start Couse I learnt a lot of valuable information that I can
share with my ECD practitioners and implement in my centre. I found it very
interesting to learn about how important social development is and what impact it
can have in our community for the future of this world. It taught me how to show
our children the importance of building good relationships this will improve their
communication and problem solving skills. Children learn this mostly while playing
with friends, when children are not playing they do not have this opportunity to
learn this. I also gained much knowledge to see how deep emotional development
goes. Children need to feel accepted, loved, safe and cared for. If we do not make
sure that our children experience these values in the ECD centre they will feel scared
unloved and worthless when going to primary schools.
4. Maria: In this 4 days I have learned many things, this class has awakened things
inside me and I found my passion again. It made me see important things that I was
not aware of. Thank you so much. I learnt that children are unique, each one is born
with his or her skills and potential, but it is our job in ECD Centres to nurture,
stimulate and develop those skills in order for them to reach their potential. We
have seven years to love them unconditionally, to protect them so they feel safe and
to prepare them on early stages while laying a foundation for them to be ready for
formal schooling.
I never knew communication is a two-way channel; one must talk while the one
must listen. And only respond after taking a breath and not while angry.
I am happy for this training and hoping to see more training for all our practitioners
in our ECD centres. We need these lessons in life to prepare our community for the
benefit of our children. This training made me realise the damage that is already
there at our schools. Children are dropping out and become addicted to drugs,
because we did not prepare them for schooling in this foundation stage of ECD.
But it is never too late for us to better the situation by learning from our mistakes
and learn how to lay a solid foundation for them to feel valued and reach their full
potentials.

The ECD centres are part of the ECD forum that was establish to provide support for
each other. The educators expressed the need for training of their other
practitioners and for the other ECD centres in the community as well as the need for
infrastructure, equipment and food support.
Should you wish to invest in the education and future of our littlest citizens please
contact Retha at 082 898 2006.