Home opens new centre

MIDRAND REPORTER – Children need an investment in their education and early child development plays a key role.

New Jerusalem Children’s Home in Midrand recently opened its Afra Training and Development Centre, a facility which will offer training to foundation phase and early child development teachers.

The programme will offer skills for people to run fully-equipped community-based preschools, giving children a chance to have quality foundation phase education.

The home’s marketing communication manager, Raymond Madibogo said, “The Afra Training and Development Centre will also offer child- and youth-care training and arts and culture development. It will provide accredited training for community members with an interest in closing the child- and youth-care gap in communities.”

Madibogo added that the home has always wished to bring early child development education to disadvantaged communities. “A shortage or absence of trained teachers has been a hindrance to transforming community-based preschools and Montessori preschools.”

Chief executive officer of New Jerusalem Children’s Home, Anna Mojapelo said, “The centre will help children in the community too, as ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, it will improve children’s formal education and life skills.”

Speaking at the opening of the centre, Jonathan Hayes of Omega Digital, which donated digital training equipment, said, “Nothing is more great and humbling than seeing a children’s home looking beyond its call of duty. Years ago, New Jerusalem Children’s Home came to us as an organisation which focused on sheltering children; today they are an organisation which sees an opportunity in many social issues and addresses pressing matters in communities without complaining.

“The home dedicates itself to close gaps and try to resolve social issues at hand through education and developing life skills for the orphaned and vulnerable children and youth so they can be marketable and be future economic role players. Initiatives of this kind make it easy for us to continue helping where possible as we believe a child’s life is being developed through our involvement.”