His goal with the Uyanda Academy and Daycare Centre says Athi Ndwebi, 23, is to educate children and bring about change.
Founded last year the centre, in Rastakamp, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village cares for 25 little ones, which Athi refers to as their eagle buddies.
“All our children are eagle buddies because we believe with every eagle when they start to soar and go out, they start to make an impact in others’ lives,” he said.
With an interest and training in education, he first worked at a school teaching computer skills. He then pursued training in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) field leading to the opening of the centre.
“The main reason for us to open the centre was to respond to a problem more on a grassroots level. Like if you can teach one child one value and they take it back to their family and the family then start implementing that value into their family values and into their family culture it will bring a change into our social culture within the village itself,” he said.
The centre, although young in existence, has huge goals. “Uyanda means growth and we believe that every child that comes into our centre, must grow,” he said.
They implement different teaching methods and a forward-thinking approach to learning. One of these is using the Montessori system to instil a sense of independence in children.
Teaching children to read from an early age is another crucial element they focus on. “I believe that children can be taught to read from the age of one. If you can read stories to children and try to help them memorise whatever you read to them it’s possible,” Athi said.
Lizanne Pick, staff member said reading time is a favourite activity. “They love reading time because they want to see the pictures, they want to see what the story is about, so it makes a big difference in their lives.”
They also school the little eagles on the 3 R’s. “We started teaching our next generation how to make use of recyclable material to help them learn how you don’t have to wait for something but how you make use of what you have,” Athi said.
Mental health is another focus area. “I think we should make it fashionable in South Africa to make every childcare centre a more trauma-sensitive place because you are dealing with a child from a really young age so if you respond to any trauma or issues children have between 0-5 years then when they go to the school, they are able to now adjust,” he said.
For them to succeed in a community amidst social challenges and shortcomings Athi said innovation is needed. “I always say to people yes, we might operate from a shack, but we make it work.”
The centre recently benefited from Love In Action donations. Ongoing needs include mattresses, food for daily meals, books and stationery. “They always feel so empowered and vibey when they have those small little art aprons on,” he said.
Athi invites people to partner with them. “For you to be part of this, you will not only be focussing on and making a change to a ‘now’ problem but more of a thing where you will implant a seed for the future, where somebody will now start to believe there is hope and change can come when others take hands.”
