Pre-school gives poor kids a chance

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Grace Warriors, a pre-school in Asherville, started in the heart of Mandy Frolick, an inspirational local woman who saw a broken generation in need of self-worth, love, hope and quality early childhood development.

As a resident of one of the poorest communities in Graaff-Reinet, Mandy realized that if she didn't do anything about the many young children that were not attending school, it would simply be a matter of time before they dropped out of the formal education system due to weak academic and self-worth foundations.

She left her secure employment to make her dream a reality and started the school from her home in May 2017 with only three children. The need was more urgent and desperate than even she had expected and within a year Grace Warriors grew to 54 children under the age of six.

Grace Warriors is a registered Non-Profit Organization (NPO) and is in the process of becoming an official Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD).

As mentioned, Mandy started the school from her modest home.

Within months her home became too small to accommodate the number of children attending the school. She recruited volunteer educators to assist her and sought a larger facility, which she found in a small church nearby that she was able to rent on a monthly basis. This was always a temporary solution as the church wanted to do renovations and utilise the whole space, which would mean that the school would have to relocate.

Grace Warriors had to move out of that building at the end of June this year.

During the 3-week June/July winter holidays they had to scramble to find an alternative venue for the school, which re-opened on 17 July.

In the nick of time, they managed to secure another larger and more stable local church, the Assembly of God church in Asherville, that was prepared to allow the school to run in their venue and use their facilities for several months, until such time as Grace Warriors could secure shipping containers as classrooms or a permanent building.

They are then prepared to allow the school to make the large open space on the church property a permanent location for Grace Warriors.

Grace Warriors would like to thank the following organisations for their incredible support and donations since they opened their doors to the community: Assembly Church, Karoo Catch, Pick n Pay, Samara Private Game Reserve, Lions Club Graaff-Reinet, Asherville Assembly of God, BlueSky, and Safari Club International.

Without these organisations and the individuals within them, Grace Warriors would not have gotten off to the incredible start that it has. Grace Warriors is a pre-school that is making a difference in a very impoverished and under-resourced area in Graaff-Reinet. If you would like to contribute to the school by donating children's clothes, stationery, food, or finances it will be greatly appreciated.

Please contact Lee Erasmus for more information or to make a donation on 082 459 4198.

Within a year, Grace Warriors Early Childhood Development Centre grew to 54 children under the age of six. Photos: Charlene Prinsloo