Dear Friends of Golden Sunbeams
Our very committed principal Nomthandazo received the official registration for her Rise and Shine Pre-Primary School in the township of Nomzamo for the first time 5 years ago. To make this possible, we have been systematically supporting her since 2012 in fulfilling the requirements set out by the government.
In order to be able to apply for an extension of the registration after 5 years, a large number of permits are required from the Cape Town Municipality and the Health and Fire Protection Departments.
Nomthandazo acted with foresight and applied for an extension of her registration very early on. Unfortunately, it still took far too long for all the documents to be issued by the Cape Town Municipality and the Health and Fire Departments. In the meantime, the registration certificate has expired and the Department of Social Development (DSD) therefore stopped state funding for Rise and Shine last month. Regrettably, things move very slowly here, and our principal Nomthandazo found herself in this predicament through no fault of her own.
It’s a vicious cycle: Rise and Shine has not received any state funding since last month and the number of boys and girls in her kindergarten is decreasing. She doesn’t even have a high enough salary to live on, because with what little she has, she pays her kindergarten teachers first. In the meantime, the registration certificate has expired and the Department of Social Development (DSD) therefore stopped state funding for Rise and Shine last month.
To help Nomthandazo out of this situation, we gave her an interest-free loan. This way she can get her finances in order and, above all, provide the children with regular meals. With our support, the financial pressure is off for now and she has time to pay back the loan until she receives funding from the state again.
Since not all of our schools apply for their extensions so far in advance and early, we thanked Nomthandazo for her commitment with an excursion.
On October 17th we went to the Cheetah Outreach in Somerset West. At 10:00 a.m. the shuttle taxis we had ordered picked up the 35 children and 4 kindergarten teachers from the school in the Nomzamo township.
The children were very excited. Before we entered the grounds, our personal guide at “Cheetah Outreach” introduced herself and explained a few important rules of conduct to the children. But then it started.
Cheetah Outreach is an educational and conservation facility that works with cheetah ambassadors who provide visitors with unique personal experiences. The facility communicates the sustainability of the conservation programme and raises people’s awareness of the wild South African cheetahs in order to ensure their long-term survival.
In addition to cheetahs, there are also desert lynxes, jackals, smaller wild cats, meerkats, tortoise and other animals.
First we met the black-backed jackal Moya and our guide explained to the children in English what this animal can do and what it normally eats in the wildness. Our principal translated the exciting report for our younger children into Xhosa, their native language. Our youngest participant was only 2 years old, all the other children were between 3 and 5 years old. The older children already speak and understand English very well, but for the younger ones it is still a big challenge and so everything was translated into their native language.
On the way to the cheetahs, the children saw many other interesting animals, such as large tortoise running around the area.
The children were particularly taken with the little meerkats, who were very active and made us all smile, as they also have something human about them.
But then the time finally came and the children were able to see and observe the cheetahs, which usually lie peacefully under a tree or in the shade of the grounds.
There are around 1,300 cheetahs in South Africa, of which around 500 live as wild cheetahs on unprotected farmland in the north of the country.
The facility supports the work of the Cheetah Outreach Trust to protect this population and invites local and international visitors to get involved in saving these elegant African predators and to network with each other. The Cheetah Outreach Trust has worked with communities where wild cheetahs live to develop initiatives to reduce human-animal conflict.
There are also two Anatolian Shepherd dogs living on the property, which are often used on the farms to guard the herds and protect defenceless animals from predators. These very large livestock guardian dogs made a special impression on the children, especially their size, as the dogs are larger than many of the children.
After these activities, the children were very hungry. So we looked for a nice spot where the children could enjoy their lunch from the lunch boxes they had brought with them, in peace – with a great view of the entire area.
Before the day ended, the children prayed to thank their parents for the beautiful day and also for the food they had given them.
After this eventful day, we went back to the shuttle Taxis, which were already waiting for the children. Before that, however, there was a final photo of all the children. And after all the children were in the taxis, we took a photo of ourselves because it was a special day, too, for the kindergarten teachers and balm for our souls.
Our hope is that if word gets out in the community that the children of Rise and Shine go on such exciting and educational trips, it might also help Nomthandazo to increase the number of children next year through new registrations.
And finally, our annual SAVE-THE-DATE:
Please note that on Thursday, December 5, 2024, we will be holding our traditional Christmas party in the garden of the Mondeor Restaurant in Somerset West.
For many years now, we have been organising the popular Christmas party for our kindergartens on a rotating basis, so that every institution can take part. This year, over 100 boys and girls with their teachers from our kindergartens Covenant Kids and Lekkerbekkies Edu-Care Centre in the Rusthof township are looking forward to the big day.
It starts on Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. for the children / from 12 p.m. for the adults in the Mondeor Restaurant, 22 Mondeor Road, Somerset West 7140 (N2).
We look forward to seeing lots of friends, sponsors and acquaintances there again to kick off the Christmas season with the children and us! Will you be there?
Until then, best wishes to you all,
Britta & Claudia