Day mothers have been identified within the communities of Ravensmead, Eureka and Connaught to run small playgroups in their respective communities from their homes.
Children from high-risk families join these playgroups on a daily basis in order to be stimulated through educational play. The children are also provided with a nutritious meal daily. This project thus ensures that toddlers can develop to their full potential within a safe environment with responsible supervision.
Badisa Tygerberg presently has 6 Day mothers with 42 children attending the programme.
The Smartstart programme is a structured early childhood development programme to ensure that toddlers are sufficiently stimulated to reach their full potential for school readiness.
Day mothers in our communities are trained by Badisa Tygerberg and provided with the necessary tools to implement this programme. Presently, Badisa Tygerberg has 16 Smart Starters with 96 children attending these programmes.
During December 2020, 27 children graduated from this programme. We wish to thank Melony, Marilyn, Helena, Wanita and Juanita for the role they played in these children’s lives!
This program is presented quarterly and aims to promote awareness amongst children with respect to Child Abuse and the Children’s Act. Each child received a booklet explaining the concept of child abuse and where they can seek help should they be a victim of child abuse. The booklet also explains Children’s Rights and Responsibilities.
Not only are children presented with booklets, but the facilitators of the program also have educational conversations with the learners to ensure that they understand the information.
The Bright Star Life Skills programme aims to develop personal, relationship and leadership skills to aid individuals to live their lives excellently and to be more effective leaders and team members. Three 3-day workshops (according to age groups) are presented to children in foster care. During 2021, a total of 45 teenagers and youth completed the Bright Star Life Skills Programme and received their certificates.
Family stability relies on parenting. The risk-assessment team, however, identified that the main reason for child abuse and/or neglect, were inadequate parenting skills. For this reason, Badisa Tygerberg engaged in a Parental Skills Training programme namely Hands on Parenting.
The Hands on Parenting course helps parents to reflect on their skills and areas of parenting that need improvement. Understanding the children’s behaviours and analysing how their feelings affect their behaviours is an area of emphasis. Relevant topics includes How children grow and develop and building children’s self-esteem. Problem solving and sexuality issues are also tackled. Helping parents and their children to be active citizens through learning about alcohol abuse and preventing violence is prioritized. Communication styles and how they affect children are also discussed.