Patricia Bonde is one of our classroom assistants and fieldworker who looks after 6 of our Sabrina kids and their families. Patricia attends Kwanokuthula Primary daily with our kids and facilitates classroom learning in Grade 1 and 2.
Sabrina Love Foundation supports 100+ children with physical and mild/moderate/severe cognitive abilities and where possible access to mainstream education. This includes assisting purchasing assistive devices, case managing access to health care services, individual therapy, ensuring physical accessibility of schools, networking with local education role players, advocacy and mediation with local schools to ensure inclusion and the basic constitutional right of every child to education.
In order for our mainstreaming children to access the curriculum, to be an active participant in the classroom and learn to their full potential, classroom facilitators are the much needed solution. We currently provide access to mainstream education for 14 children with special needs within 4 mainstream primary schools supported by 6 trained and monitored classroom facilitators. We feel very strongly that this is currently the best way to ensure that the learners are included, teachers are supported and the basic rights of these children with disabilities are met.
After school, the Classroom Assistants fulfill the role of fieldworkers and conduct regular home visits to the parents and children to ascertain any problems or difficulties they may be experiencing and assist with medical and therapy appointments that may be needed. They submit weekly reports of any needs or issues which arise from these visits in conjunction with our Field and Admin Manager.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Sabrina Love Foundation to financially meet this huge need which is only going to increase in the future as more children with learning barriers access mainstream education. We have seen how these employment opportunities have developed our facilitators, some of whom go on to further their studies in special needs education. Our programme is also in agreement with the government’s new YES initiative aimed at reducing youth unemployment as our local college annually trains ECD practitioners without job prospects.
If you would like to contribute in any small way, please hit the donate button at the top of this page to contribute to our cause. DONATE!
Thank you!