GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - On Friday 1 December Vuyani Learning Centre had its annual prize-giving event at Thanduxolo House in Bourke Street.
Riana van der Ahee, the public relations officer and fundraiser of Vuyani, welcomed all the visitors and staff at the special event.
Elaine Stanley, Vuyani's chairperson, opened the meeting with a prayer of gratefulness for the work done at this special little school.
Van der Ahee gave a short overview of the learning centre, which opened its doors in April 2018. This was made possible through funding from the Rupert Education Foundation for the salaries of two remedial teachers and a small school building at the Botanics Sport Fields, which Vuyani occupied rent-free until the end of 2022.
At the beginning of this year, Vuyani converted the garage and storeroom at its Bourke Street property into a school room for the learning centre.
The funding came all the way from Switzerland. After two Swiss teachers who volunteered at Vuyani in April 2022 returned to Switzerland, their little school raised funds for Vuyani through their annual Christmas market, which paid for the renovations. Elaine Stanley did the oversight of this building project.
Van der Ahee also praised the two teachers, Hettie Pienaar and Betty Swartz, for their unwavering commitment to the well-being of the children in their care.
Through a liaison with the Department of Education and a retired school principal, Ebben Hufkie, children identified by Vuyani are removed from the mainstream school system and placed at Vuyani Learning Centre.
During this intervention time, they are assisted through a special reading programme to overcome reading barriers. They also receive occupational and speech therapy when developmental lags are found. With the aid of an approved Caps curriculum the children are also assisted with one-on-one teaching. Eleven children have been able to return to mainstream schooling since 2018.
These children are mostly from Vuyani Safe Haven, but under special circumstances a child from the community will also be accommodated.
Graaff-Reinet has no school for children with special needs. Some of Vuyani's children will not be able to cope in mainstream schooling and they stay at the learning centre for the long term.
Swartz and Pienaar showcased their amazing accomplishments with the six children when they surprised the audience with their enthusiastic recitation of much-loved nursery rhymes.
This was accompanied by appropriate hand and body gestures that brought spontaneous laughter to the audience. Swartz, as principal, reported on the challenges and achievements of 2023.
Hildegarde Brummer, Vuyani's manager, praised the teachers and children and asked Pienaar to hand over the awards to the children.
The little faces showed their pride in their achievements over the year.
Brummer then introduced a very special award of recognition of volunteering to Erica Whitlock.
She is a young woman from the community who offered to assist the children with different crafts and recreational activities. She helped the children learn different skills through fun and laughter.
The uplifting event was concluded with the sharing of a cupcake and cold drink on a very hot summer's day.
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