Rustler’s Valley (part V): the children

After breakfast, we set off on our tour to see what was happening at Rustler’s Valley, what the Naledi Village Farmers’ Co-operative were up to.

It began with the crèche and, next door to it, the school. I smiled at the appropriateness: children are the foundation of any enterprise or society, and the energy invested at this level ensures the longevity (and ultimate success) of whatever we set our hands to, be it family, village or nation.

We arrived at the buildings. To the right, where we were going to start, was the crèche. A protective fence rings the premises (government regulation). Jackie and Kami Naidoo, who had joined us for the day, took us through the rooms and introduced us to Mpho and the fourteen children aged between two and six years old.

After treating us to a song, the little ones stood in silence, looking at the adults in the room and waiting for whatever was to happen next. Kami Naidoo surprised me by asking whether I would tell them a story.

I did the only thing which came to mind: a simple role play illustrating the importance of learning language. It is what they are doing: colourful pictures, letters of the alphabet and words adorn all the walls of the centre. Learning the basics of literacy here helps the children (to say nothing of the teacher) for the next phase, namely school. (I would use the same role play a few minutes later at the school).

The Naledi Village Farmers’ Co-op is busy tying up loose-ends to get the crèche registered. This holds advantages like accessing social grants. We exit, go around and stand at the school gate.

We must wait to be allowed onto the premises — school policy controlling traffic to the classrooms. Another silent nod of approval from us.

Mme Justine (Justine Rapulome) is the school, in the sense that she is the sole teacher (which also means the sole administrator, principal, psychologist, social worker and other roles inherent in teaching). Repairing the school was one of the first tasks on the agenda when EarthRise Trust took over Rustler’s Valley (covered in the YouTube clip, EarthRise Trust – an overview).

When mme Justine hears “agriculture” in my job title she points to soil outside the buildings which she would like to rejuvenate for a school garden. I say that I am not a soil scientist, but would recommend the more organic steps to enriching this soil. Earthworms and vermicompost and Compost and organic fertiliser would be two relevant chapters from the Agri Handbook. Indeed, there is enormous potential with earthworms, and companies like Wizzard Worms do sterling work with communities.

I repeat the short role play in which two children must communicate how they are feeling without using words is a simple way to show the importance of language. We thank the school and head back to the bakkie, keen to view what the parents and other adults on the farm are doing.