For many of the about 120 children who participated in a library integrated programme held in Claremont earlier this month, it was their first time setting foot out of Manenberg.
On Wednesday 22 March, Claremont Library, with the assistance of Manenberg Library, hosted Grade R and younger learners from three Manenberg Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres and a non-profit organisation (NPO) as part of this year’s Library Week.
First up in the programme line-up were interactive dancing activities, led by The Bridgetown Theatre Company, followed by an educational play which had the little ones in stitches at the Claremont Civic Centre.
Leaving the hall behind, the intrepid explorers next headed to the Arderne Gardens across the street where librarians – dressed for their parts – made one of the children’s favourite books, Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett, “come to life”.
Zuleigah Jardine, of Mustadafin Foundation in Manenberg, says her learners were counting the sleeps to the planned outing.
“We empower our kids through education. The spirit inside, the encouragement and the motivation that everything is new for them. Children learn through play and this is something new to them,” says Jardine.
Chanelle van Niekerk from Little Lillies Pre-Primary says she too jumped at the opportunity to have her learners participate in the excursion.
“There are always negative stigmas surrounding Manenberg and, yes, there is a lot of violence and there is gangsterism but there are good aspects. One of the good aspects is our ECD centres.”
Van Niekerk says reading and developing a love for books are critical.
“So all my themes that I do and all my language activities that I do always coincides with the library’s. The library will always ask me, what’s your theme? So for example, our previous theme last week was healthy living, so they would coincide and do stories that actually interlink with my theme.”
Van Niekerk says the library’s reading programme is not just about stories but has an holistic approach.
“They target not only the language development of the learner, they target gross motor skills and fine motor skills, for example, with the stories, you need to lift your hands up, or put your hands down.”
She adds that excursions like these also get the children out of their environment.
“We don’t have gardens like these in Manenberg. You can hardly walk outside when there is shooting, when it’s gang related. Also, my class is very eclectic, my learners are not just from one area, some are from Nyanga. So when you come from Nyanga to Manenberg, you go from one area that is not much different from your own, but this gives them an opportunity to see other areas such as Claremont.”
Love out Load is an NPO that focuses on vulnerable children and youth in the Manenberg community.
Founder Jonathan Jansen says with education as one of their key focus areas, they run a play school on a Tuesday and Thursday for kids whose parents can’t afford to place their children in ECDs.
Jansen says one of their goals is to create lifelong memories for the children.
He says children who live in Manenberg rarely get the opportunity to leave the community.
“Some of the kids, their parents are on drugs, some of the parents live in extreme poverty. So they will never be able to give this opportunity to the kids.”
Brenda King, principal of Moravian Educare Centre, says what stood out for her about the day was that, before the children came on the excursion, the librarians taught them that all the characters that they see on TV and love, they can find in books.
“Books give them knowledge and takes them to places where they’ve never been. It’s an adventure for them.”
Nuhaa Portland, assistant librarian at Claremont Library, started her career in the library services as a voluntary assistant at Manenberg Library for three years before being appointed on a permanent basis. Furthering her education on a part-time basis, she joined the Claremont Library team just over two years ago. When she left Manenberg Library, she promised her ECD “family” that she would not forget them.
“The children were so excited to be here because of the trees, they don’t get to see these things. There is graffiti all over. For example, one of the schools that are here today is located in a particularly bad part of Manenberg where they are constantly shooting. But then they are one of the best ECDs in the area.”
She says that they don’t want to harp on the challenges of Manenberg.
“But bringing them here is an exciting thing for them and the schools were so grateful when we invited them. It was almost like we were giving them gold,” says Portland.
