By Harrison Dax Nash | Project Leader / Charity Director
Of course as we approach the festive season this is really a opportune time to look back on the year and what has been achieved through this project!
During the last year Maranatha Care Children has been able to help support 40 children and young people receive full-time residential care at our Maranatha-Siyakatala Child & Youth Care Centre, based in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The support we have recieved has allowed us to open doors for the educational development of our children.
This has included access to 13 different educational establishments, inclusive of two crèches for Early Childhood Development, two special schools for those with specific intellectual needs and three higher educational establishments for post-school training or university level studies.
For the past 8 years we have maintained a 100% matric (high school) pass rate at diploma or bachelors pass for our teenager’s finishing school, which is also testament to the support provided for them. It means all those young people qualified for higher education!
We had another girl achieve this, with plans to embark upon a nursing qualification.
Of course educational expenses also extends to school uniform, stationery and other needs such as book costs, extra-curricular activity and transport but the support we received allowed us to ensure these needs were met.
We also had a number of 12 occupational therapy assessments undertaken with these children also commencing weekly OT sessions in small groups. Further to this a number of 10 psychometric evaluations were undertaken, with 4 of these being specific aptitude assessments to assist in relation to subject choices and future career skills.
This also helps with formulation of the individual development plan that is needed for each child and young person. It is also used for any referrals to special schooling with a more occupational centered curriculum of which 2 additional children were accepted for 2024.
This is where we also believe strongly in vocational skills development outside of general academic progress, especially to help promote access to work opportunities. As such our oldest girl had been embarking on a Hospitality & Catering course, progressing to diploma level and most recently gaining employment in a 5 Star Hotel that is part of the Mantis Group. We were also thrilled to be able to attend her graduation.
Our oldest male also undertook a learnership focused on Maintenance for Sustainable Building through which we are now looking to identify work options. Our whole ethos is working to ensure we come up with a plan and pathway that helps each child and young person grow their strengths and achieve their potential.
We are so thankful to GlobalGiving and all our faithful supporters for helping us make dreams a reality!
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