Human Dignity Centre – Pre-School
Jerusalem Ministries has established the Human Dignity Centre (HDC), which assists orphaned and vulnerable children as well as any caregivers, in the informal settlement of the Walmer Township in Gqeberha.
Our Pre-School addresses the basic children’s rights of both education and food.
We aim at giving the children a quality education. We currently have 2 classes for children between the ages of 3 – 6. We try and limit each class size to 20 children per class, which will allow each child to receive the individual attention they require. The children are taught in English, as this will assist them more in future employability, however, all instructions are reiterated in Xhosa as this is predominantly their home language.
The children are taught basic life skills as well as to identify the letters of the alphabet, write and count. We follow our national pre-school curriculum and CAPS for Grade R so that these children will be able to attend local mainstream schools.
Once the children are ready to transition to mainstream schools, we put on a graduation ceremony, which not only provides great excitement but gives the children a sense of worth.
Our teachers are not only qualified education givers, but they also need to be able to meet the emotional needs these children will require.
As our government grant does not cover all the projects we run, our teachers earn a minimal wage. The job they provide is done out of pure love and the “want” to assist our less fortunate communities.
Feeding Scheme
As well as providing a pre-school education we also focus on minimising the problem of malnutrition. Each child who attends our school receives 3 healthy meals during the day. For some, this is the only food that they will receive.
The cleaning of the school is done by the caregivers of the children (many of whom don’t have any employment). This is their way of “paying” for the education of their children/ or children they care for.
When possible, we provide food parcels for our children and carers, which is often shared with the greater community. Where possible we also provide food to the youth at our ‘Safe-Parks’ in the afternoon, currently this is limited to twice weekly.
After-care
As well as tending to the younger children, we provide an after-care facility for +- 60 school-going children. This is run by ‘Hands-On Homework club’ at our preschool premises. We provide lunch for these children as well as assistance with their homework.
They are also given the opportunity to be children, take part in activities and ball games, whilst indirectly learning life skills.
Our trained staff and facilitators are also there to discuss the day-to-day child and teenage issues such as abuse, in all forms, and teenage pregnancies. By keeping them educated on these issues, we can only hope that the often-sad circumstances they experience daily can be changed.
Our township has two “Safe-Parks” which are managed from the municipal parks. Our team is divided between these two parks and we offer assistance to children who might otherwise be on the street while their parents are at work. We provide support with homework, fun activities, teach life skills, sports and nutrition while ensuring their safety.
An ‘Orphanage without Walls’ – Isibindi
This initiative is based on a program called Isibindi, which is nationally recognized and was developed by the National Association of Child and Youth Care Workers (NACCW) in response to the HIV/Aids crisis and its impact on South African children. Although it is now referred to as Risiha by the Department of Social Development, the contents of the program has not changed, it is a community program that is widely acknowledged nationwide.
The core projects consist of (as per NACCW):
Practical assistance includes:
- Helping with the preparation of meals
- Cleaning the house with the children and caregivers
- Accompanying family members to the clinic and overseeing the taking of medication
- Assisting the family with the application for birth certificates
- Helping the family to budget
The therapeutic elements include:
- Teaching life skills – relationship building, problem-solving, conflict resolution, dealing with stress
- Assessing and referral of children and families – health, trauma, education, need for material assistance relating to severe food insecurity and crises
- Transferral of knowledge and skills – HIV/AIDS awareness, testing and management, safety, nutrition and educational assistance
- Life-space counselling – in the moment assistance with difficult situations of conflict, crisis, stress and grief
At Jerusalem Ministries, we focus on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC’s) in the Walmer Township (mainly the airport valley, Area-Q and G-West communities).
We recently had a situation where we had a child from Mount Frere who was not able to attend school as she did not have an ID document. Her mother had passed away and the only way an ID could be applied for was through the mothers’ death certificate, which had been misplaced. After much work from our Isibindi team, the death certificate was obtained, an ID document was received and the little girl could now attend school.
