Meeting the teachers and discovering individual needs of children
Today we went back to Letaba special needs school to have a meeting with the teachers and to discuss their needs and how we can support them through our aims and objectives. One of their main concerns was communication of feelings and personalities which they find very difficult to gauge with the children that are unable to communicate verbally. We have decided to work with 2 small groups to start off with, giving us a chance to focus on what is right for these particular children and to enable us to get to know their individual needs and disabilities.
When we arrived at the school, the teachers and staff were very welcoming and generously offered us some tea, coffee and home made cakes which we all very grateful for .
We presented several ideas to the teachers which they were very enthusiastic about, but we all agreed that it was best to keep our activities simple. As we have only 2 weeks with the children on this trip, we feel it is important to begin with getting to know the children with very basic communication and feelings activities to ensure we do not raise disturbing memories, feelings and triggers of bad experiences. We have organised for the children to visit both a wildlife sanctuary and a chimpanzee sanctuary as part of the activities.
The teachers feel they have no formal training on working with children affected by trauma and disabilities and are in their words ‘desperate’ for support from professionals such as play therapists and counsellors. We all feel that sharing skills, fresh ideas and experiences is a very important part of this support. Tomorrow we will go back to the school to start working with 2 groups of children and to continue our support to the teachers and their needs.
At the end of our meetings, we were met with a lot of children who we were happy to play with, sing songs and draw pictures in the sand with sticks! The children were very interested in a camera and we showed them how to take photographs which they loved. The children who are unable to use their hands were assited to take photographs of their friends and appeared to be very happy while we spent time with them. We wanted to share with you, some photographs below, of the joy that appears to come from their smiles and personalities.
By Roger Mallins, March 17, 2010 @ 9:51 am
I have read all the comments and wish you all a good and enjoyable trip.
By Helen Webb, March 19, 2010 @ 12:20 pm
Have enjoyed reading blogs up to now and will continue to do so till you return Val.
It’s a great experience and I’m sure all of you will be of great assistence both now and in future to the school.
Helen
By Lindsey and John, March 19, 2010 @ 6:18 pm
What a beautiful smile! Your project sounds really valuable for everyone concerned.We look forward to hearing all about it.
By Barbara Scott, March 23, 2010 @ 7:51 pm
It sounds as though there is much work to be done – but that you are all approaching it with much thought and enthusiasm. Wishing you all great things from humble beginnings.
By grandma, March 28, 2010 @ 6:00 am
What a happy face .You are all doing a fantastic job.We could learn from this. The material things we depend on so much, do not count for anything.Looking forward to seeing you and hearing about your experience first hand.