EDUCATION
South Africa: Vrygrond Nursery and Primary School
In January 1996, the people of Vrygrond formed a community trust to fight for a better quality of life of their residents. Their first achievement was to convince the Cape Town City Council to officially transfer ownership of the 52 hectares of land on which Vrygrond was situated, to this squatter community.
One to One Children’s Fund has been involved in supporting a crèche and pre-school centre for up to 150 children to receive early learning skills and a balanced lunch each day. From day one in 1996 until today, we have financed the running costs of the crèche, including water, electricity, all salaries and providing vital vitamins, early nutrition for babies, pre-school education for toddlers and health training for the mothers.
In 2000, the crèche was still made of tin, wood and plywood and we organised a trek through Namibia to raise funds to contribute towards the construction of a brand-new crèche and nursery school, which opened in January 2001 for 178 children. Our next objective was to raise money for an outdoor playground for the children to play, socialise and exercise in safety. Our supporters also contributed to providing a library and computer equipment for both the children and the wider community to enhance their learning skills. In 2006, the Library won an annual award for the best Branch Library in the Western Cape.
In 2006 One to One Children’s Fund resolved to increase its efforts to help Vrygrond realise its dream of a new primary school. A variety of donors have contributed through our charity, which has acted as a focal and coordination point for Vrygrond. The new school opened in January 2008 and 450 children started school in January 2009.
We continue to provide funding for the maintenance and ongoing educational
activities at the creche and nursery school. Now we are also funding a
programme to help children develop their attention, listening and language
skills, which includes a programme for parents to help their young children
acquire literacy skills.
Vrygrond Community Development Trust
see our work in action