Winter season is the most challenging for children on rural farms. Covid-19 and lockdown in South Africa make it even worse. The houses of the children on Middelpos farm are cold, wet and damped from rain leaking through their clay brick walls and asbetos roofs. It is so much harder to keep the children motivated during lockdown and in their poor living conditions. At least attending school and after school support provided them with an escape of a few hours every day.
To help lift their moods, we asked them to choose any person who has visited the farm before and write a letter to them. We wish you could see how their eyes lit up and how their broad smiles lit up their faces! They spent all afternoon writing, concentrating, laughing, drawing and coloring-in the most beautiful letters to their friends who are far away but who are helping them to cope with some very real life challenges. One boy’s mother spent the whole afternoon with him, putting her hand over his tiny hand to help him write his letter. He is only five but was determined to write a letter too.
In this wonderful and selfless gesture, our little INSPIREpreneurs have put smiles on the faces of people who may be struggling too, who knows. At the same time, our children are improving their literacy skills and forcing the women to do the same! Two women wrote a thank you letter each to everyone who support their INSPIREveggie bag project.
The children are determined to write letters to their friends on the surrounding farms tomorrow to help keep their hope alive too. A secret is that they have to think about a JUDO question to help their friends begin training “remotely” for the year-end JUDO grading. How clever is that?