| Thembakazi Matyeka is one of the teachers shouldering that huge task. As the Grade R teacher, Thembakazi is responsible for preparing her learners for primary school while easing them out of pre-school – which means she teaches in both Afrikaans and Xhosa. She is quietly spoken but she carries herself with poise and grace. She has the bearing of a woman who knows who she is.
Yet 19 years ago, she was a domestic worker on a nearby farm and a single mother. Born on a farm “that side”, Thembakazi went to school in Colesberg. But she had to leave when she had her baby and return to farm life. She was lucky to get a job cleaning a farmhouse. Now this qualified Grade R teacher conducts her class in two languages simultaneously, to accommodate the learning needs of all her charges. She speaks quietly but her voice is clear. “The Trust gave me a future,” she says, leaving her classroom in time for her meeting with Margie. Thembakazi completed her Level 4 ECD training in 2007 and is busy with her Level 5 in 2008 through Khuleleka
One intern is studying Level 1 and 2 are studying Level 4 at Khuleleka to become ECD practitioners
|
