Lemoenland
What we started way back in 2001 – as a way to provide pre-school education for farmworker’s children – is now a thriving centre for growth and development.
Schooling in South Africa
Education is one of the greatest needs for young children in South Africa, and more specifically, early childhood development. Educational provision is extremely patchy: good in some of the cities, very poor in others. In South Africa, formal schooling is only enforced from 6 years old (implemented by the latest BELA Bill in 2024). In practise, this means that some children from poorer backgrounds don’t get a great start in life. By 7 years old, they are already far behind, and it’s difficult to catch up. As Cedarberg Africa’s South Africa Office is based in a more rural Cederberg town, we saw firsthand that farmworker’s children sometimes fell into this trap. About 5 years after we started, we set up Lemoenland to fill this gap. Lemoenland has been providing a safe space for early childhood development for over 20 years!
An Opportunity to Help!
Lemoenland Pre-School was set up to cater for local children from 4 to 6 years old. The school has two classrooms with two properly qualified teachers and a teacher’s assistant. Every year there are about 50+ children that are registered in the school. We follow the Government pre-school curriculum with a weekly pattern of themes for the year. We also undertake regular funding drives to get extra money for school outings. These trips are a real eye-opener for the kids as many of them have never left the Cederberg! After 2 or 3 years at Lemoenland Pre-School, the children start Grade R at school with a sound foundational understanding and discipline for further learning.
As we cater for such a widespread rural community, the school has a school bus and a second vehicle to collect all the children from surrounding farms. This means that petrol is a big cost for the school. (But we would rather this than children not making it to school due to circumstances beyond their control).
A new development in the last few years is that we now provide breakfast for the children and also a late morning meal as well. This is very helpful as some of them come to school without a proper meal. A good breakfast fosters concentration and better learning for the children. Some of the local farmers have also joined the initiative and contributed food to help with the provision of meals.
What can you do?
For every booking we make we contribute a set amount to Lemoenland pre-school, so by booking with Cedarberg Africa, you are already contributing. However, if you would like to make an extra donation, that would be much appreciated! You can donate to the everyday running costs of the school, or you can ask for a donation to go towards our new project of school bursaries.
