Cotlands - Together we bring hope to life

Newsletter ed 17

Back to school at Cotlands

Tirelong Community ECD Centre - North West Project

A brand new ECD centre was opened 5 October 2009 with 5 staff members and 60 children from Ikemeleng informal settlement in Kroondal, Rustenburg. The staff implemented a well-balanced age appropriate programme which resulted in children learning and developing in a short space of time. The positive feedback received from the children’s caregivers was overwhelming.

We were flooded with applications for the academic year of 2010. On the first day of the school year, 40 additional children were enrolled. We had to equip two more classes and appointed 3 more staff members. The community of Rustenburg has embraced this project and numerous donations of cash, toys, clothing and essential equipment was made toward the project.

Within 2 months our ECD Centre was filled to capacity and now, we can impact on the lives of 100 more children and their families. What a blessing!

Everest ECD Centre - Mpumalanga

The Everest ECD Centre has been operational since 1 September 2006, employing 4 staff members with an average of 15 children attending per day. In January 2010, the centre opened with 80 enrolled children and a staff compliment of 13. The ECD Centre also boasts a large food garden which produces vegetables for daily use and selling.

In 2009 an income-generation project, which includes selling second-hand clothes, was introduced. The ECD Centre offers a rich, holistic and age-appropriate learning programme to children aged 2 to 6 years. In addition, services to the children and their families were expanded to include health and psychosocial support. A childcare forum was also established to address the needs of young children. We are proud to see how this project continues to provide quality services to the farming community of Boschfontein, Lydenburg.

Western Cape ECD Centre

On 5 January 2010, the Western Cape ECD centre celebrated its first birthday. 11 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years made up the class of 2010. Many of them had never been to nursery school before and were looking forward to numerous learning opportunities.

Planning activities that promote physical and intellectual development is a full-time job for the ECD Practitioner. Preparing and carrying out lessons, managing the playroom and assessing each child’s performance and work development are primary to her role. There are many challenges that arise, such as handling children with varying behaviours and backgrounds, putting boundaries in place and accommodating three age groups in one class room, to mention a few. But there are also those magical moments such as seeing the children grow emotionally, physically and intellectually. Knowing the days of the week, colours, shapes and their own names, surnames and ages are all indication of how the children have conquered the basics which makes the promotion to mainstream schooling that much easier.

Turffontein ECD Centre – Gauteng

Twenty three of our children were ready to be sent off to start the academic year in four different schools - nine of these children were the very first children that were started on ARV treatment. We celebrate the remarkable developmental gains in our children due to ARVs.

Three other children remain at Foundation School until their developmental delays have been adequately addressed while two boys and a girl have been placed in special schools (Hamlet and Frances Vorweg) which provide schooling that best suits their needs. Four children were moved from a remedial school back into a mainstream school.

We also enrolled four children in at Park Junior this year, a public mainstream school. This is an exceptional benchmark as it shows how intervention programmes provided by the ECD Centre is successful in addressing developmental delays and closing the gap some children experience in terms of their development.

Latest News

BabyGym partnering with CCC, Soweto

In December 2009 Cotlands Community Centre in Soweto had a wonderful opportunity to partner with BabyGym instructor Carol Maseko in developing the stimulation programmes for our newborn babies.

A baby’s first year is the most important time of his/her life, as this is the time vital development takes place. By the end of year one, a baby has the most brain cells he/she will ever have. Thereafter, brain cells decrease by 10 000 per day! However, the number of brain cells is not as important as the connection between brain cells. BabyGym builds these connections, so that babies reach each milestone in the correct sequence for optimum development.

Through various techniques, BabyGym aims to detect developmental problems at an early stage, while improving the child’s development through infant massage and communication. The programme was introduced at Cotlands Community Centre at the end November last year and is aimed at babies aged from birth to one year old, who are physically challenged. To ensure quality implementation, the Cotlands team successfully completed a six-week course with Carol as our tutor.

There has already been a marked improvement in some of the babies through the use of these techniques and we look forward to the long terms fruits of our partnership with Carol and BabyGym. Cotlands is also hoping to impart this knowledge and skills to other NGOs and clients in the area, to improve the overall development of children living in the community.

Our children need parents

Since the introduction of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in 2002, the AIDS-related death rate at Cotlands has reduced dramatically. Although considered a positive occurrence, it has also resulted in an annual increase of the average age of children still residing at Cotlands. Unfortunately, there has been no corresponding increase in the rate families are adopting or fostering HIV positive children. Currently, the percentage of adoption and foster care at Cotlands is zero.

Cotlands has responded by developing a Professional Foster Care (PFC) programme to deal with the challenge of institutionalising “difficult to place” children. This challenge arises from unsuccessful attempts at reunifying parents, families and/or relatives of the children.

We’ve tried various ways of dealing this challenge, including placing the children with families in our PFC programme. Since the beginning of the year, we have managed to place three children with a family and sincerely thank this wonderful family for opening their hearts and their home to the children. One of the children has already been enrolled in school, which meets our objective of placing our children with families before they start “big” school.

We hope that many more families will seriously consider giving our children the opportunity to grow up in a home environment. For more information on our PFC programme, please contact us at (011) 683-7200 or e-mail: info@cotlands.org

Change goes a long way with McDonalds

We recently had the honour of sharing a few moments at breakfast with senior management and a few of the Top 5 restaurant managers within the McDonalds family, who help us raise funds through the Cotlands coin collection project.

For several years McDonalds stores have allowed us to place our collection tins on their counters to invite donors to drop in their spare change as a donation to our cause. This project has raised substantial funding, considering the amount of coins collected in each tin. The tins also serve to raise awareness about Cotlands in the public eye.

This partnership has proved significant to us and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with McDonald’s South Africa.

Bestsellers

Comfort dolls by Brett Rowland

Brett Rowland was tasked with a community service project that required he formulate his own outreach initiative. In 2009, he recognised the need for comfort in our children and decided to provide soothers in the form of comfort dolls.

With donations and sponsorship of wool, and the buy-in from the local old-age home ladies, he managed to have enough comfort dolls made for all of our children at Cotlands - Gauteng… and more! With the help of his mother and grandmother, this seemingly unreachable goal soon became a wonderful reality.

Thank you for this wonderful contribution to our children, Brett and all involved – it was received with much appreciation and love.

Learning experience made possible

This will be an exciting year for two of our children who are limited due to physical developmental delays. On 13 January 2010, they attended the first day of school at the Cotlands ECD centre – Gauteng, where they shared a class with their age cohorts. We’ve ensured that an assistant is available to support the ECD Practitioner as well as these extraordinary children in receiving the necessary, individual attention and the many learning opportunities available.

We are grateful for the positive and eager attitude of our Practitioners and thank them for their efforts. To the learners, we look forward to this year which promises much excitement and a wonderful learning experience - and to you, our supporters watch this space for updates on the latest development and successes.

Gogo’s 1st day

A description by one of our staff members as she accompanied a boy to his first day at a new school.

“Whoo… don’t remind me of that day! You know, he put on such a brave front. He actually directed me to school and told me where the gate was, which of course, I pretended not to know.

When we arrived, he showed me two other young boys and I said to him, “At least you have brothers at school”, and he was quiet happy. We were then taken to his class and welcomed by his teacher. We were briefed on the procedures for the day before the teacher asked us to leave our children in her capable hands. That’s when the trouble started! He started crying and I hugged him and told him it was OK to be anxious but he had to stay with his teacher who was going to take care of him.

I reassured him that he will be fetched from school but when I walked away, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. One parent asked: “Shame, are you the Gogo (granny)?

“Yes,” I replied. I did not know that as a Gogo, I still had such tears. It made me realise that shedding a tear (on the quiet) will always be part of what we do at Cotlands. I asked not to be exposed to this again, but I know I would do it again… next year! Sis Stella, Residential Care Manager – Cotlands Gauteng

Upcoming events

Vote Cotlands your favourite charity through MySchool and win!

Win R5, 000 for yourself and R10, 000 for Cotlands by voting us your favourite charity through the MySchool online competition. Your support could earn you extra cash by simply voting online, using your MySchool card number.

The competition runs online between 13 November 2009 and 28 February 2010. For MySchool supporters and Woolworths linked cardholders, click here to vote online. Simply select Cotlands as your favourite charity, enter your MySchool card number — et voila! Your vote will be cast for your chance to win R5, 000!

For those of you who wish to participate and are not yet a MySchool supporter, please click here to apply.

The prize draw will be held on 5 March 2010. Winners will be notified telephonically.

Terms and conditions apply. Please visit www.myschool.co.za for more.

To all the entrants, good luck!

Love your Community this Valentines!

Between 10 and 13 February 2010, we will be exhibiting our work at the Bryanston Shopping Centre in partnership with their “Love your Community” initiative. With music to set the mood and some great promotions to enjoy, winning someone’s heart this Valentines couldn’t be easier. Participate in the competition between the dates specified and you could win R1000 for Cotlands.

And, with other great prizes up for grabs, who knows… you could walk away with something to make your Valentine’s Day truly special! We hope to see you there.

NetFlorist’s Rounding-Up Campaign will boost our income

NetFlorist has once more partnered with Cotlands in an initiative to raise funds through the Rounding-Up campaign. Here’s how you can spoil your loved ones… and benefit Cotlands.

Since December, Cotlands was chosen as the beneficiary of purchases rounded to the nearest R5. If, for example, you purchase a bunch of flowers, or a chocolate gift box from NetFlorist at R186.00 then round to the nearest R5, making the total purchase R190.00, Cotlands will receive the balance of R4. As one wise person once said, “A miracle starts with a little change”.

Support Cotlands by placing orders with NetFlorist this Valentine’s so that we can continue serving our country’s vulnerable little ones. Visit www.netflorist.co.za for more information.

Special thanks and acknowledgement

Cotlands thanks the MTN Durban Jazz Festival for choosing us as beneficiary to the event held 26 December 2009. Watch this space for more in our next edition.

We salute and honour the following donors for taking the decision to replace a token gift with a truly meaningful donation to us:

Upper Edge

Impro Technologies

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