Topsy Foundation NPC

Music is Food for the Soul

Our Holiday and Life Skills project offers disadvantaged children in the rural communities of Dipaleseng, Mpumulanga, a break from their everyday lives, to participate in fun and memorable experiences. The beneficiaries of our Orphaned and Vulnerable Children programme are invited to spend some of their school holidays participating in activities that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience. We aim to engage in creative activities so that children’s creative abilities may be awakened.

The aim of this effort is to impact the lives of orphans and vulnerable children by teaching them life skills. This is something that the current generation is missing from adults, due to death of parents and thus mended large families wherein the guardians might not have the time to spend with the children they care for, as they are trying to make a living for the family. Through these new experiences and by teaching life skills, we aim to close this gap for the future generation.

Each Holiday and Life Skills experience hopes to encourage children to become more aware of their creative potential and to harness it. Children are encouraged to discover their talents and work on them, potentially growing their talents in order to make a living and contribute to the communities (humanity) in their future. 

In the recent Easter holidays, children were invited to spend the morning at the Topsy Sanctuary, Grootvlei, to join in a Drumming Circle, learning how to play the drums and a variety of other percussion instruments. The children and young people were also given a short lesson about the different types of drums being played buy the musicians leading the circle and the different sounds they could create. This wonderful, heart-warming experience was kindly sponsored by The Drum Café in Johannesburg, www.drumcafe.com .

The children were shy and unsure to begin with. The musicians from Drum Café began performing and told the children to join in and beat the small drum found at their feet. The lead drummer urged the children to make music with the drums, however they want to, there was no right or wrong way – just have fun. As music filled the room, the children began to warm up and really started to enjoy themselves. Smiles spread across the room as their little hands began to find the beat and soon everyone was drumming to the same beat. They were naturals! There was so much rhythm and energy in the room. Even though the children were extremely excited, they were very co-operative and listened to every word the teacher said - a proud moment for the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children Programme staff that have grown close to the children. 

Before this experience most learners had not been exposed to such an exhilarating experience and their lives were built upon a normal routine. Nyengi, a qualified school teacher who runs our Afterschool Centre, participated in the Drumming Circle and said the following:

“The whole exercise made me feel jubilant, thrilled and revived so I was excited that the same happened to the learners.”

If you would like to help us fund another Life Skills Experience, please give through our GlobalGiving page.

Links:

• For more information, visit our website

November 13th 2015 marked a momentous occasion for our Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme, the first graduation ceremony for 17 day care centre principals from the communities we serve.

Early in 2015 we began partnering with ASHA Trust, a provider of Early Childhood Development support programmes for home-based crèches in disadvantaged communities. From May 2015, they started facilitating The C.A.R.E Skills Development Programme from our Sanctuary, for day care centres in the surrounding communities.The C.A.R.E Programme by designed by ASHA is a practitioner development programme which includes face-to-face tuition and follow-up hands on support in the centres. The programme:

• Equips the ECD practitioners with the basic skills of running effective and stimulating centres.
• Emphasises the importance of a daily programme and nutrition.
• Prepares the principals / owners of the centres, for registration with the necessary local authorities. Once this has been done successfully they become eligible to receive financial subsidies to help with the nutrition programme and to pay child care workers.

Emily (pictured above) is one of the principals that received certification. Emily is the principal at Leseding day care centre in Siyathemba. She started her day care centre in 2009. When Emily started the ASHA Trust’s training programme she had minimal working experience in a day care centre as a practitioner.  Her centre is not yet receiving a subsidy from the Department of Social Development which makes it one of the most under-resourced centres we work with.

The training Emily received from the programme helped her gain knowledge on how to provide the best possible quality care and stimulating environment to the children in her centre, in spite of the lack of adequate practitioners and financial resources. The training has also improved her administration skills which make her centre management better and increases her chances of receiving financial assistance from the Department of Social Development, and other donors in the community.  

Emily received the award for the most improved day care centre. In spite of the financial challenges she faces, staff and disadvantaging community environmental factors, she has been motivated to rise above her challenges. Her confidence has been lifted and she knows she continues to have support to implement what she learnt and improve her centre further.

Emily is the epitome of potential unlocked through our partnership with ASHA Trust and their practical training programme. She has been given an opportunity to better impact the lives of the children in the community she serves.