SINGAKWENZA WASTE 2 TOYS

 

SINGAKWENZA TRAINING WORKSHOPS IN ZULULAND WITH 

THE MILIMANI EDUCATIONAL TRUST

Singakwenza trainers, Joseph and Vuyisile, facilitated the Waste 2 Toys training workshops in Zululand from 15 to 19 August 2022. This meant an 850 km round trip from Pietermartizburg.

This was motivated by the Milimani Educational Trust and funded by the Oldham family in the UK so that community caregivers could participate in the training.

The importance of the caregivers’ role in the lives of the young children that they influence daily was acknowledged and emphasised at the workshops, and caregivers have been encouraged to provide play opportunities for their children every day. 

They learnt how to make a number of educational toys from household packaging that is usually thrown away, discovering how many skills a child is developing while playing with the toys they made and how those skills will help the child in formal education.

A total of 60 delegates attended the 3 training workshops over 3 days.  They have 580 children in their care, be it at home or in their creches.

At the start of each training session, the delegates are given the opportunity to play.  They use a skipping rope made out of bread bags and take turns in skipping.  This is to remind them how much fun is had when playing and all the skills that one is learning at the same time such as gross motor skills, taking turns, sharing etc.  These photos really tell a wonderful story of participation and fun.

Building on the investment made by Milimani in 2020 during Covid for the Learn@Home boxes, many delegates had knowledge of the work that Singakwenza does and the educational activities that are made out of recycling.  

Tuesday 16^th August - Sovane with 21 delegates who have 440 children in their care.

It was wonderful to have a few delegates from WILDTRUST Somkanda Game Reserve attending as Singakwenza had run training for them in 2017.  

The rest of the delegates were from creches in the area.  Here are some comments from the delegates:

“Singakwenza brought joy and encouragement to the creche practitioners.”

“The fact that the activities cost nothing to make means it is affordable to anyone.”

“We can now create our own toys.”

Wednesday 17^th August - Maphambeni with 21 delegates who have 76 children in their care.

Most of the parents from Zihlakaniphele creche attended this training.  These are some of their comments:

“This program is meaningful as the government is having difficulty in funding ECD and we can make our own equipment from waste.”

“We enjoyed the hands-on, fun and practical activities.”

“The training accommodated everyone including the gogo’s and brought in teamwork and connected the community.”

Thursday 18^th August - KwaDla-Kuse with 18 delegates who have 64 children in their care.

A number of parents attended this training.  These are some of the  comments that were received after the training:

“We learnt new ways of behaving like being patient and understanding the children, especially when playing with them.”

“I am aware of how important it is for a child to play.”

“The importance of using waste to make learning equipment.”

 There was a unanimous call for Singakwenza to return again and run further training!

In order to maximise Milimani’s investment in the training, we need to follow up with the community to ensure that they start to implement the new knowledge they have learnt. The delegates only made one of each item at the workshop, but they will need a lot more to use in the classroom.  At the workshop, ideas were shared on how to get access to the recycling they need, such as asking local restaurants, B&Bs, schools, etc. to collect for them. Making toys can be quite time-consuming, so the delegates can also ask parents, gogos and the community to help them make more items.  

We hope to get funding for 2023 to hold future workshops that can make such a difference in the lives of these remote communities.

For more information please contact Lois from the Milimani Educational Trust at lois@kuhle.me