Zenzeleni   

Work independently – find your own solutions

Visitors to Southern Africa, struck by the beauty of the area’s unspoilt wildernesses and wildlife areas, are often left with a desire to put something back into the continent and its peoples.

One of the best ways of doing this is to invest in the future. Investing in the future means investing in the children who will be tomorrow’s leaders –politicians, businessmen & women, environmentalists, conservationists, care-givers, doctors, nurses and teachers.

These leaders of tomorrow are today living mostly in overcrowded urban informal settlements or shantytowns on the outskirts of major cities.

Drawn to the cities by the prospect of employment, people have no alternative but to settle in these sprawling metropolises of cardboard and corrugated iron.

Unlike many developing nations where informal settlements are often part of the inner city, in South Africa these communities are found on urban outskirts – a legacy of apartheid legislation which dictated the creation of formal urban developments for black people well away from inner cities and established residential areas.

It is here in these inhospitable townships where tomorrow’s leaders are growing up. Children who today must struggle for survival in communities wracked by poverty and disease – foremost among them the growing prevalence of HIV infection, currently affecting 1 in 4 of the South African population.

Yet amongst this seemingly hopeless despair, there is also light and laughter and something to look forward to – perhaps some hand-me-down clothes or a loaf of bread or, most important of all, that mom or dad has found a job.

Perhaps the surprise could be a book or crayons, a puzzle or building blocks, a school, a teacher, a desk and chair – a place where an eager young mind can grow and be enlightened and educated to illuminate and lead a child into a secure, rewarding and stable future.

There is need in every community and it is never easy to select the most deserving or worthy cause to support. However, throughout the ages and in all societies, education has been the key that unlocks the mind, frees the spirit and sets the child on the road to success.

So our company, Greenlife Southern Africa, has adopted a little school in the largest informal settlement in Cape Town, as a project worthy of immediate and continued support and help. But we cannot do it alone.

Zenzeleni School in Khayelitsha, about 30kms from Cape Town, opened in 1999 with one class and now educates 180 pupils at the primary school level. It is a grassroots project initiated by Khayelitsha parents who were keen to establish a school in their community that gave their children access to Waldorf Education.

The name ‘Zenzeleni’ is Xhosa for ‘work independently – find your own solutions’, a theme which characterises a special approach to education and is easily noticeable in the school. Pupils are encouraged to take initiative and praised for their successes, thereby developing a high level of self-confidence and a sense of responsibility.

They are treated with love and respect in a harmonious and balanced environment. In a society where crime and violence are a daily threat, loving relationships and human values receive constant affirmation.

With well-trained and motivated teachers, the progress made by pupils is impressive, especially in learning English, the most important language for their future. The balanced approach between their mother tongue and English as a second language works effectively, bringing the pupils both the joy of fully understanding what they learn and acquiring new language skills.

As an independent school, Zenzeleni asks parents to make financial contributions to their child’s education. In a poor community, however, the parents are unable to carry the school’s financial load on their own – their contribution currently amounts to about 24 percent of this.

The remainder must be found through fundraising, particularly in the short and medium term. Ultimately, about half the funds will come via government once the lengthy bureaucratic delays are out the way.

The total expenses for 2005 in US dollars come to $110 000. Parents’ fees will raise $26 000 and donations already secured stand at $16 000 (R98 000). This leaves a shortfall of $68 000 (R416 000). Anyone who is able to offer financial assistance will make an important and enduring contribution to the school and to the lives and future of the children and their families.

The school is administered by the Centre for Creative Education – a registered NGO (Section 21 – not for gain) whose annual financial reports are processed by an independent auditor and on whose Board we serve.

Please contact the following Board members if you require further information.