School and water safety for South African kids

Dear Donors:

Many thanks for all of your support over the past year! We are so excited that things are really coming together with our Swimming Academy project at Philippi Children’s Centre.

Our project manager in South Africa, Kissmea Adams, is hard at work getting all of the plans together with the vendors and contractors. She has done an amazing job in getting materials free or at reduced costs and is confident that we will be within our budget. 

We are now looking to pour concrete in January and once that happens, things will move very quickly and we are on track for our March opening. They are going to start clearing the site this month, using local labor to dig the pool. We will be posting photos of our progress on our Facebook page and that is the best place to keep abreast of the latest.

In the meantime, please enjoy this short video of Marian's swimming lesson. She is one of the children we are currently sponsoring for swim lessons and we are thrilled to be able to soon offer many more children this opportunity!

We are happy to report that our regular scholarship students at Philippi Children's Centre are all doing wonderfully, thanks to you, our generous donors! Here is an update on their progress from their teachers.

Teacher Denise says, "Tyron, age 4, is a very happy child and is interacting well with his peers in class. He knows his colors and shapes. Tyron likes to work with the knobbed cylinders and broad stair. He is able to build a 30-piece puzzle on his own. He likes drawing and painting. He is able to communicate well with the teachers in his class. His attendance is good. He likes outside time, he likes playing on the jungle gym and playing with a ball with his friends." You may recall that Tyron is a child that we were concerned about as he showed signs of fetal alcohol syndrome when we first met him a few years ago, so we are thrilled with his progress!

Three year old Nadine’s teacher Patronella says her attendance is very good. "Nadine is a very quiet child in class but can communicate well with her friends. Nadine enjoys working in the practical life area with wet pouring. She can count up to 10 without any assistance. Nadine was introduced to metal insets and she loves working with them. She loves outside time where she plays with her friends in the sand pit." 

Juanicka, age 3, is also in Teacher Patronella's class. "She is very happy to be at school and loves to communicate with the teachers and her friends. She can count to 10 without assistance from the teachers. She loves to work in the practical life area with the spooning. Juanicka was introduced to the sandpaper numbers in the Maths area and she loves working and tracing on them. She loves outside time and playing on the jungle gym. Her health is good and she is a pleasure to have in class."

Teacher Leah says of Melody, age 2, "she is very quiet in class. She is progressing in class but still needs lots of assistance.  Her potty training is going well and she has started saying when she needs to go to the toilet. She likes to play with dolls and likes sing-a-long time. We are happy with her overall progress."

Jamie-Lee, age 5, is graduating in December and will be moving on to primary school. His teacher, Elizabeth, says "he has a pleasant disposition. He speaks with confidence to the group and responds well. He works well in groups, planning and carrying out activities. He enjoys doing neat careful work. He can work with numbers up to 20 with understanding. He knows primary colors as well as the basic shapes." We will miss Jamie-Lee and wish him well in his future education. Starting in January, we will have a new scholarship student, Rafael.

Best wishes for the holidays!