Wedge Gardens residents learned the value of teamwork and pooling resources when they completed their pottery room recently.
Residents of the Rand Aid treatment centre worked alongside occupational therapist Kendra Neethling to design and construct shelves for the pottery room.
They used old wooden cupboards to make the shelves and in so doing they shared and developed woodworking skills.
“The project has helped develop initiative and pride within the gentlemen involved. It also presented an opportunity for the transfer of skills that can be utilised outside of Wedge Gardens in future leisure or work pursuits,” said Kendra.
The pottery room itself has created much excitement.
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The therapeutic value of working with one’s hands, developing creativity and achieving a state of flow is exceptional. A state of flow, also called ‘being in the zone’, refers to an optimal state of engagement that heightens positive emotions and feelings of intrinsic reward, she explained.
“The hope is that the pottery room can be utilised as a space where the residents at Wedge Gardens can be exposed to numerous skills while working towards a market day planned for later on in the year,” said Kendra.
She said the aim was to provide the residents at Wedge Gardens an opportunity to not only learn task concept and pre-vocational skills, but also to delve into the field of entrepreneurship and learn higher-order skills such as financial management and budgeting.
“This will help them live productive, goal-directed and meaningful lives,” said Kendra.
