Cape Town – The Indaba Institute hosted its first graduation ceremony on Friday for 22 students in the Cape Winelands.
The Indaba Fund has a specialist early childhood teacher training facility and this project was aimed at empowering the children of Winelands farm workers.
Primadonna Mabokela, a Foundation bursary recipient said the course changed her life after she responded to an advert she spotted in a newspaper.
“This makes me hopeful for the future. You see, there are many people abusing drugs and alcohol and who are impoverished, and unfortunately, in my community, most babies are born in those climates,” she said.
She wishes to open up her very own 0-3 Years school in Klapmuts. "It will be a haven of peace and security for children, as I believe that every baby is here for a higher purpose.”
Mabokela was one of 22 students awarded certificates for passing South Africa’s first Association Montessori Internationale Assistants to Infancy 0-3 Years Diploma training course.
Mabokela was grateful for the bursary and to the members of her community, who she said helped her tremendously when she was required to submit a registration fee of R200 to secure her application.
“At this point, I didn’t have any money and I was desperate. I spoke to my mum and she contacted friends in the local community who worked as pickers on the wine farms and asked them for a loan. The response was overwhelming, people came forth and offered whatever little they had and by the end of the day I accumulated all the money I needed,” she says.
“Witnessing the graduation of Primadonna and the other students is a truly uplifting experience. A time for celebration and reflection,” says Andre Shearer, Founder and Chairman of the Indaba Foundation.