A glimpse of life at Emyezweni - Athenkosi's story:
Athenkosi came to us at the age of six through our contact with Helderberg Christian Church. His uncle and elderly grandmother had been caring for him and his older brother since their parents died. Money was tight as his uncle couldn’t find work, and both boys were sick with tuberculosis. We found a place for Athenkosi’s brother at a local primary school and gave Athenkosi a free place at Emyezweni School. We found suitable clothing for both boys from our clothing bank, and the church began to provide food parcels for the family. When he first joined the school, Athenkosi was withdrawn and displayed serious behavioural problems. He didn’t want to be away from his brother and we found it difficult to keep him in the classroom – he was particularly good at escaping when he was on his way to the toilet! Gradually, though, he began to settle into the class, we began grief and bereavement sessions with him and tried to encourage other children to make friends and include him in their play. After two weeks at pre-school Athenkosi began to relax and join in activities and play sessions. He still struggled with whole class sessions, though, finding the challenge of sitting on the carpet without individual adult attention quite hard. We persisted with praise and encouragement and I discovered his favourite reward was when he was allowed to sit on my lap and play with my hair! We helped Athenkosi’s grandmother to fill in social service forms and took her to the local office so she could obtain a grant for the two children, which resulted in both boys having identity documents and access to medical help. When his uncle found temporary work we saw an immediate improvement in his clothing and general health, which had a positive impact on his ability to concentrate in school. Soon he was making good progress with formal writing and various other learning activities. Update 2011 Athenkosi is still at the school; he has been identified as having some educational special needs due to his early childhood experiences (and as a result works in a grade class lower than his chronological age) but he is making good progress and is socially and emotionally well developed. He enjoys spending time with his peers and is much more relaxed around adults and strangers. We have very good relationship with Athenkosi’s grandmother with whom he stays and she often comes to school to ask us for help filling in forms and other paperwork. I think she appreciates just being able to talk about her problems over a cup of tea and she enjoys being shown Athenkosi’s work and discovering the progress he is making. We have discovered that he has a real affinity for growing things; last year he was involved with working in the church vegetable garden and we are hoping to incorporate more horticulture into his curriculum this year. We hope to keep Athenkosi at Emyezweni School until he is old enough to go to a practical skills based secondary school and help him to get started on an apprenticeship at the local Helderberg Nature Reserve or something similar. At age 10, he is a delightful (not so little !) boy and although we do worry about his future we are so grateful to be in a position to put some things in place that will help him as he grows and develops. - As told by Deb Gregory, previous headteacher at Emyezweni School-Success Stories
© Ukuthasa 2017 | Charity Registration Number: 1055539
Emyezweni Influence
Ukuthasa supports Emyezweni School that not only supports the education of the children of Lwandle, but also has a positive influence in the community.
How you can help
If you would like to make a difference in the lives of the people we support, contact us. No matter how small the amount, every donation makes a positive impact.Other projects
Handmade Jewellery Ukuthasa supports small business projects with start-up funding to help men and women develop skills which can be used to create a source of income.More success stories
Story from a Mentor Peer Educator Ukuthasa Peer Education Programme provided a Life-skills programme aimed to enable young people to make wise choices about education, future goals and careers, community involvement and upliftment as well as life decisions around sexuality and sexual choices. Wandiswa and Wandile Emyezweni School provides vital foundation stage Education to young people in disadvantaged communities.
A glimpse of life at
Emyezweni - Athenkosi's
story:
Athenkosi came to us at the age of six through our contact with Helderberg Christian Church. His uncle and elderly grandmother had been caring for him and his older brother since their parents died. Money was tight as his uncle couldn’t find work, and both boys were sick with tuberculosis. We found a place for Athenkosi’s brother at a local primary school and gave Athenkosi a free place at Emyezweni School. We found suitable clothing for both boys from our clothing bank, and the church began to provide food parcels for the family. When he first joined the school, Athenkosi was withdrawn and displayed serious behavioural problems. He didn’t want to be away from his brother and we found it difficult to keep him in the classroom – he was particularly good at escaping when he was on his way to the toilet! Gradually, though, he began to settle into the class, we began grief and bereavement sessions with him and tried to encourage other children to make friends and include him in their play. After two weeks at pre-school Athenkosi began to relax and join in activities and play sessions. He still struggled with whole class sessions, though, finding the challenge of sitting on the carpet without individual adult attention quite hard. We persisted with praise and encouragement and I discovered his favourite reward was when he was allowed to sit on my lap and play with my hair! We helped Athenkosi’s grandmother to fill in social service forms and took her to the local office so she could obtain a grant for the two children, which resulted in both boys having identity documents and access to medical help. When his uncle found temporary work we saw an immediate improvement in his clothing and general health, which had a positive impact on his ability to concentrate in school. Soon he was making good progress with formal writing and various other learning activities. Update 2011 Athenkosi is still at the school; he has been identified as having some educational special needs due to his early childhood experiences (and as a result works in a grade class lower than his chronological age) but he is making good progress and is socially and emotionally well developed. He enjoys spending time with his peers and is much more relaxed around adults and strangers. We have very good relationship with Athenkosi’s grandmother with whom he stays and she often comes to school to ask us for help filling in forms and other paperwork. I think she appreciates just being able to talk about her problems over a cup of tea and she enjoys being shown Athenkosi’s work and discovering the progress he is making. We have discovered that he has a real affinity for growing things; last year he was involved with working in the church vegetable garden and we are hoping to incorporate more horticulture into his curriculum this year. We hope to keep Athenkosi at Emyezweni School until he is old enough to go to a practical skills based secondary school and help him to get started on an apprenticeship at the local Helderberg Nature Reserve or something similar. At age 10, he is a delightful (not so little !) boy and although we do worry about his future we are so grateful to be in a position to put some things in place that will help him as he grows and develops. - As told by Deb Gregory, previous headteacher at Emyezweni School-Success Stories
© Ukuthasa 2007 | Charity Registration Number: 1055539
Emyezweni Influence
Ukuthasa supports Emyezweni School that not only supports the education of the children of Lwandle, but also has a positive influence in the community.
How you can help
If you would like to make a difference in the lives of the people we support, contact us. No matter how small the amount, every donation makes a positive impact.Other projects
Handmade Jewellery Ukuthasa supports small business projects with start-up funding to help men and women develop skills which can be used to create a source of income.More success stories
Story from a Mentor Peer Educator Ukuthasa Peer Education Programme provided a Life-skills programme aimed to enable young people to make wise choices about education, future goals and careers, community involvement and upliftment as well as life decisions around sexuality and sexual choices. Wandiswa and Wandile Emyezweni School provides vital foundation stage Education to young people in disadvantaged communities.
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