In August of 2010, we added another pre-school. Nestled in among twelve
grape farms in Wellington, is a tiny one room creche named Pinocchio. Currently, there are twenty children
ages three through five that attend the creche. When I left in 2010, I bought them a new kitchen floor, curtains, a DVD
player, and new carpeting. In June of 2011, I returned to provide educational materials,
curriculum, toys, and furniture. This creche is teaching the children in Afrikaans, so I enlisted the help of a wonderful
woman named Amla Nel to work closely with me and translate as needed. Together, we introduced a new language,
math, science, and social studies curriculum. I also created a small library that houses books in Afrikaans. The
lead teacher, Elsa Adams, is educated; however, she lacks the resources to provide an enriching curriculum to the young children.
I am impressed with her and her assistant, Christine's passion for teaching and their ability to remain positive when
faced with having few materials to work with. Although I ran out of money and was not able to supply the children
with a lot of materials, as of August 2011, the children are now actively engaged in learning to read, write, and
to master math concepts. The goal of AFRICA Inc is to continue to provide resources, materials, and curriculum to Pinocchio
until such time as they are recognized by the country of South Africa as a certified creche and can receive funding from the
educational department.
