Children from the Ocean view Care Centre during their graduation on Friday December 10.
Johann Kikillus, Soteria Ministries
The Ocean View Care Centre celebrated its Grade R graduation on Friday the December 10. Congratulations to the 60 children who will be going to Grade 1 in 2022.
Despite all the challenges of the lockdown and Covid, our children finished really well. They were all assessed last week for school readiness, and we were pleased to hear that they achieved high marks.
All of this would not be possible without the assistance of several role-players. A big thanks to Grassroots Educare Trust for training the facilitators and providing an incredible programme.
Thank you to Children Aloud who provided occupational therapy, for Sylvia Present who assisted with counselling and Living Hope, which ran several programmes throughout the year.
The staff of Standard Bank fixed our toilets and remodelled our ageing kitchen. There were also dozens of individuals who provided food, stationery and toys all year round. In turn, we were able to set up creches in the central Karoo.
Over the past seven years that Ocean View Care Centre has been operating, just over 700 children have been educated, fed, clothed and have received additional therapy where needed – all free of charge. The original vision was to create a space to ensure that all children would be prepared for Grade 1, especially if they did not have the means to pay for pre-schooling.
I wish to thank the dedicated staff and volunteers for their hard work and making a real difference in the children’s lives.