The Fencing and The Classroom

'Move-in' date gets closer as basic necessities near completion.

A number one priority for the teachers is to fence off the property - to keep the kids safe and to block off an existing thoroughfare next to the Creche premises. Thanks to the girls having raised sufficient money from their Baker Day and Market Day initiatives, the project has been made possible. After an exhaustive search for the use of a bakkie from the Grade 6 parents, the teachers' families and township contacts, Rob and Elaine Green from Phakamisa offered to drive the Phakamisa bakkie to collect the necessary materials and deliver them to Hammarsdale. Fencing and poles at a great price, and a crash course on putting in a fence from Tim Short at Apex Fencing and Saturday saw the fencing project some alive. Thanks to the Cluver family for sponsoring the 2 new gates - one for the front and one for the back. The community will begin installing the fence on Sunday under the guidance of the local 'fencing expert'!

Roy Gooden and Derek Wright once again brought home the goods as items were ticked off the DIY list (asif the one at home isn't long enough!):

A tap lock was put onto the outside tap, which we had previously installed.

The toilet leak was fixed.

Curtain rails, donated by the Gooden family, were installed on all windows.

1. The Bag and Face Cloth hook racks, hooks donated by the Charlton family and wood donated by the Wright family, were securely attached to the wall.

Shelving donated by the Wilson family was installed.

A few holes in the roof were patched, McGyver style, with what was available in the toolbox.

The Winning Logo

The girls were invited to design a logo for Langelihle Creche. They put a lot of thought into their designs and lots of wonderful entries were received. The logos were shortlisted by the teachers to the top 5. They were:

1. Danielle Andrews of Grade 6R
2. Tori Coppin of Grade 6A
3. Sarah Heron of Grade 6A
4. Tarryn Powell of Grade 6R
5. Kylie Kuhl of Grade 6A

Danielle's winning logo has the Sun for the meaning of Langelihle, which is Beautiful Sun, and the Flowers to symbolise the happy children.

Well done to everyone!

The Mural is Complete!

Wow! The mural looks unbelievable! It is truly incredible what our girls can do and by all accounts they had a great time painting.

The Creche kids also had the time of their lives as they sang songs, danced, ate cake, chewed on Fizzers and played with balloons!

To see more pics just double click on the slideshow and the web album will come up full screen - enjoy.

Filling in the Canvas!

What excitement! Today we began the painting of the mural. Small groups of girls are going out this week to add their own personal touch and contribution to the front wall of Langelihle Creche. Before our very eyes the 'wall' began to some alive with wonderful creatures and bright colours.

The little kids who are still using the old building while we sort out the new one, popped in for a visit, to meet the girls who are helping to transform their school.

Language barriers were broken down with a few lively songs - first in Zulu from the little ones and then in English from the big girls.

Soon there was lots of dancing going on and all sorts of action songs!

The Painting Party!

Well, what a day! Not your usual party - no sweets, very little playtime and lots of hard work but gifts of time and goodwill, plenty of friends, lots of laughter and memories for life.

It all started very early (for a Saturday) with everyone rushing for their paint rollers and trays. The first coat of PVA was started, inside and out. The girls handled the outside with amazing enthusiasm and demonstrated unbelievable commitment and painting skills!

The Moms tackled the inside with equal fervour and quickly discovered that painting on bare concrete blocks was something they never wanted to do again, as paint got sucked in and holes had to be painstakingly filled with small paintbrushes (the girls came in handy here).

And then...we discovered that the second lot of donated paint was actually enamel paint (this became obvious when water wouldn't wash the paint off the girls and kids, who were pretty much spattered from head to toe by now). A well timed call from the teachers, who were en route, had them popping in at the hardware to buy another 15l of enamel paint and 5l of turps! As it turns out, enamel paint is probably more suitable for a creche as little hand prints can easily be cleaned off - so the pain of painting with enamel paint (harder to get on, doesn't wash off anything, instant light headedness from the fumes) was not all in vain! In the midst of the Enamel Paint Crisis, 2 Phakamisa guests from America arrived, were promptly handed a paintbrush and paint tray and had an initiation to South Africa by fire.

Whilst the painting was being sorted out by the Moms, the Dads were hard at work doing Woodwork and Plumbing! Hook racks for little bags and facecloths were assembled, a wash trough was installed and inside taps secured. Not to mention creating a rock reinforcement for the house foundations!

Around lunchtime, the girls were 'let out' for playtime and much fun was had with all the neighbourhood kids!

A few more hours of paint fumes and then it was all over, bar the shouting ...

CC Day!

What a fun day preparing for the first visit to Langelihle Creche! Lots of exciting things to be done. Educational posters for the walls - Shapes, Colours, Numbers and lots more - pictures with English and Zulu words!

All sorts of kiddies' reading books to cover - soon to be read to the little children. Almost a library!

So many puzzles to put together, check, mark the backs and repair.

30 Symbol Tiles painted to make sure that each child knows exactly where to hang his or her bag and which face cloth to use after washing their hands in their new bathroom!




Everything is ready for next week to hand over the gifts and cover the outside walls with a colourful mural.

Painting Party!

Langelihle Creche Painting Party!

Date: Saturday 21st June 2008
Time: 9h to 15h
Who: Anyone
Place: Hammersdale – central meeting point
Needed: You, with a paint tray and roller
RSVP: Susan Wright 0822 930 284

New home for Langelihle Creche!

Exciting news! As a result of the effort we are putting behind helping this crèche, the Council has agreed to provide a better property for the housing of the Langelihle Crèche. The new building is a huge improvement on the old premises. It is in a better condition and the position and layout are much nicer. All of the items that we have so far ‘collected’ will be able to be used for the new building. In addition, this building has a toilet so instead of having to fund a whole new structure we just need to adjust the existing plumbing to install the basin, sink and outside wash trough! An added bonus is that the kids will only move across once the new building is ready so we can work on it whenever it fits in with our timings.