Matjana Community Preschool
Kaphunga Swaziland
Matjana is a not-for-profit, community preschool in rural Swaziland
Plans for a new Classroom
Written by Myxo Mdluli
As a result of the demonstrated need for preschool facilities in the community, the Matjana Preschool Committee has begun to plan a relocation of the school to a bigger, better classroom. The aim is to have a new classroom constructed and ready for use by the beginning of the school year in 2009. Although gathering adequate resources and support for this move will be challenging, the school organiser’s are excited about the potential for community involvement. Parents, student and teachers are all eagerly anticipating a more spacious school for our youngest scholars!
The preschool is currently located in a small building in Myxo’s tourism compound, constructed by Myxo for community use. As there were no preschool facilities in kaPhunga, the community decided to use the building to get a preschool up and running. Without this traditional style classroom it would have been impossible to get the ball rolling for early childhood education here. However demand for preschool in the community has now exceeded the building’s capacity.
Improving the school facilities has always been a goal of the preschool project. Temporarily using the stick and mud hut has demonstrated that Matjana Preschool is in demand in Kaphunga and benefiting many children.
“It’s now time to move on and build a bigger, better facility that will hold more kids,” said Ncobile Mbonane, the preschool’s teacher. “It’s an ambitious project but the school’s starting to get a lot of financial support internationally, the community want to help and we know we can do it.
”Several meetings have now been held with the children’s parents to discuss the logistics of moving the preschool and it has been decided that the primary school grounds (a 5 minute walk from Myxo’s compound) offer the most central location and the best environment for the new preschool. Matjana Preschool’s committee is now liaising with the Matjana Primary School committee to plan the relocation of the school.
Successful construction of the new preschool will require a good deal of fund-raising and the preschool committee is currently consulting with local builders to determine total expected expenses, including materials and labour. Keep a lookout for details of the proposal!
The school has set a preliminary fundraising target of R80 000 for 2008, to complete the classroom construction and pay equipment and cover operating expenses for the year. Fundraising for the construction will begin immediately. The first step in the fundraising campaign will be a community organised Dance and Cultural Festival, showcasing the community’s traditional dance skills.
The school committee hopes the Dance and Cultural Festival will become a bi-annual event and major fundraiser for the school. A dance party held in May this year showed there is a lot of potential to raise funds by providing tourists with cultural entertainment in the rural community of Kaphunga. The upcoming event will be advertised in Swaziland, South Africa and Mozambique and aims to raise more than R5000.
