Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori is going from strength to strength!
The 2nd term absolutely flew by at Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori and the children’s development has been phenomenal! Numbers and sounds are the name of the game at Ikhaya Labantwana, with 35 children engaged in learning these. Laying a solid foundation of literacy and numeracy is desperately needed in our rural area, and we are fulfilling this need ๐

The garden flourished in the 2nd term and once our deep freeze was full of blanched veggies from the garden, we were able to sell excess green peppers to village folk and to Coffee Shack. Pieter, our Dutch gardening volunteer, had seedlings growing and was ready to crop rotate the garden and start planting.

MCSA trainer and friend of Ikhaya Labantwana, Jennifer Moore, was back with us for 6 weeks. She guided the 8 local ladies that are studying Montessori in doing their first Portfolio of Evidence for the ETDP SETA. Xoliswa came to join us for 2 weeks, covering Montessori philosophy with the ladies in isiXhosa -so it was clearly understood. Thank you Auburn House for arranging this. Jen brought gifts with her for Ikhaya Labantwana and we are very grateful to Explore and Discover Montessori for the books they donated to us, as well as to Christina from Denmark who donated R1000 worth of stationary! Big thanks from all of us.


We then received a package of brand new Sensorial materials, which was bought with the funds raised by MCSA at the SAMA National Conference – thank you very much to MCSA and Rupert Smedley for their time and support of our project – we really appreciate it!
While I was at the SAMA national conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Tamar Dakes, owner of Beaming Kids. She gave us 2 lovely Yoga for Children books, so Jess has been doing yoga with the children. We want to include this activity on a daily basis as the children really enjoy it and it is very beneficial to them.

Our dedicated donor from the UK, 11-year old Patrick Binns, has been very busy baking buns to fundraise for Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori. Big thanks for your efforts and continued support Patrick, we were able to buy much-needed isiXhosa first readers and Story books with your bun money.

We are elated that the mine strike is now over!! Who would have thought that the national mine strike would so negatively effect Ikhaya Labantwana………Due to a large number of the local men working on the mines, incomes at the local homesteads was non-existant during the strike, so of course the R80 monthly fee that the parents are due to pay, dropped…..radically!! The children were also eating more than usual, indicating that there was a shortage of food in the homesteads. The situation should improve from this month ๐
During the July school holidays, Lucy Cronje from MCSA came to do the Literacy training with the ladies that are studying. The training involved some serious thinking and concentration, and it also offered many laughs. Thank you MCSA for this amazing opportunity. The literacy module could not have come at a better time, as loads of the children are ready for sounds, English and isiXhosa.


Just to keep you all in the loop – I am leaving at the end of the year, and going on a much-needed sabbatical. We are very happy to announce that Jess Bailey will be taking over as Principal of Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori and Nola Elliott will be taking over my role of Community Projects Manager at Sustainable Coffee Bay. Wishing these ladies a great journey ahead! Nola has started her journey with a fundraising drive and she has submitted proposals for Ikhaya Labantwana to the Motsepe Foundation – we will hear the results in September. Please all keep your fingers crossed.
Thank you to everyone for all your support with Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori over the past 5 years – it has been an amazing journey!
Wishing all ladies a wonderful woman’s month ahead!
Stay well
Dawn and all at Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori