7de laan's Werner visited Watergarden

Merlin Balie, who played Werner in the well known South African soapy 7de laan, came to visit us at Watergarden early this year. The children were ecstatic when they realised that Werner was the surprise we promised them the week before. Merlin motivated the children to work hard in school and especially focused on the importance of reading in any profession. Even as an actor it is expected of him to read his script proficiently and to memorise it in order for him to play his parts well. Merlin matriculated from Paulus Joubert Secondary school in Paarl, one of the high schools to which the learners from Klpamuts go to, so he acted as a true inspiration for these children as they could identify with him.

Easter fun with Eikenhof and Helderberg

Just before Easter weekend students from Eikenhof and Helderberg residences took hands and surprised the kids of Klapmuts with lots and lots of Easter eggs. A multitude of children both young and old joined in fun and games on the sports field. The two residences also performed a drama play which portrayed friendship and forgiveness. After that they handed out approximately 400 chocolate covered marshmallows and Easter eggs. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to these two residences for their initiative and interest in this project. We are open for other residences on campus to initiate programmes like this one, or to just come and have fun with the children at Watergarden.

A Day at the Farm

On 31 August 2006 we took those learners who are currently taking part in a project about caring for pets, that is presented by Marieanna Le Roux from the Psychology department on Thursday afternoons, to a nearby farm. The outing was hosted by students from Helderberg residence.

Mentor Group Visits US Campus with Metanoia Residence

The mentor group consists of those learners that attend high school. They partake in the programmes for the senior group and also go on academic excursions. On 5 May 2007 students from Metanoia residence took the learners on an outing to Stellenbosch University campus. This appeared to be a very informing and entertaining excursion. Every learner had a mentor for the day and they also attended an information session on the consequences of drug use. Thereafter they whent to the Humarga computer lab where they typed and printed out what they have learned from the session. For the rest of the afternoon they played games and had a braai at Metanoia. Some girls also went to visit the botanical gardens. This was a very big exprerience considering that for many of the children it was the first time that they set foot on the campus as well as typed on a computer. See more pictures in the gallery

Internationals Visit to Klapmuts

Our volunteers have once again shown great commitment during the 2nd term. It was however sad to bid farewell to our international volunteers who had to return to their home countries, which include the USA, Sweden and Norway. A day trip was organised for the international students on the 21st of May 2007. Some of the stops included Klapmuts Primary School, where the principal spoke about the school context. We also went to the community clinic, the crèche, and visited an inspiring local business man, Yellow, who creates and sells wire art at his house in Klapmuts. We also enjoyed traditional breads, homemade jams and "vetkoek" that Yellow's wife prepared. See more pictures in the gallery