Ditebogo Day Care - Hammanskraal

The Dutch Reformed Church Magalieskruin referred me to this facility. It forms part of a project they run in Hammanskraal and they have contributed to it a great deal in the past. All the playground equipment, for instance, was donated by the church and they also help them with stationery each year.

The school fees are a standard R 50-00, payable if the parents can indeed afford it. No child is turned away, however. The day care centre has 3 classrooms for the grade R children and one for the little ones. The children are taught by teachers who received basic training from the good people of the church…people who generously donated their time and skills to help ordinary, but willing individuals, to educate the little children in preparation for primary school. For arts and crafts lessons, the children are encouraged to utilize material that can be recycled into the system…think plastic and glass objects, tin cans, paper, cardboard, etc. The products they make are then sold to gain funds for the centre.

In addition to these, Onnica received a number of fruit trees from the church, as well as the means to start a vegetable patch…the fruits of their labor can now be harvested and sold in another fundraising effort. Education remains a priority and the children follow quite a rigid schedule each day…even the toddlers. They love music and Onnica specifically requested us to find a music teacher to donate her time to the centre in order to teach the children musical skills. Next month a lady from the church will come around to give them training in first aid….another thing the very tenacious Onnica requested.

In addition to the day care, the facility also includes Lerato la Mme orphanage. 16 of the 260 children at the daycare stay at the centre 24/7. They are orphans, abandoned as babies more often than not or removed from their family’s care by the police or social workers. Some of them are HIV+ and are being treated with ARV’s. The abandoned children often present a problem for Onnica as they are left at her door or picked up by other people next to the road or in a field (one was even found in a garbage bag). Some of the children still wear their plastic hospital name-tags when they are found and some are just ‘thrown’ away. In many cases the whole process of finding a date of birth and/or a name is pure guess work. Onnica says she uses the dates when she ‘found’ the baby and then just guess how old the child is, and subtract the number of weeks/days to ‘create’ a date of birth. This, of course, presents a problem for the child itself. Onnica has trouble registering these children to have birth certificates issued. Without a birth certificate there will be no identity document, no legal rights to any welfare funding, no job, in fact….no proof of existence at all. So, if someone can think of a solution for her, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Despite the church’s involvement, this facility still has a number of very urgent needs. At the top of the list is a proper bathroom. At the moment the children have to take turns at the outside shower. Other needs are:

• -          Beds, cots, camping cots, mattresses and blankets
• -          Towels and linen for beds
• -          Clothes, shoes, jackets, baby clothes for the orphans
• -          Toiletries: soap, baby bath products, bum cream, Vaseline, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes
• -          Medicine and vitamins
• -          Food, milk formula, baby food (Purity)
• -          Seedlings and fruit trees for the garden
• -          Stationery and educational supplies
• -          Educational toys, puzzles, board games, musical instruments
• -          Empty containers (plastic bottles, tin cans, cereal boxes)
• -          Geyser for hot water
• -          Carpets
• -          Child sized plastic chairs and tables

Contact me immediately if you can be of any assistance