THE sound of laughter and children at play echoes down the Durban Solid Waste site located on Johannes Nkosi Street in Durban central.
It might seem like an unlikely spot, but just east of the site lies the Makabongwe Methodist Pre-School, a non-profit organisation (NPO) run by Durban North resident, Theresa Lukan.
The former Northlands Girls’ High School pupil calls the school ‘a happy busy place’ with a vision to provide holistic early childhood development for young children. Currently the school caters for 147 children, most of whom come from impoverished communities.
“Our aim is to provide a solid foundation for their future education and by so doing, reducing the number of illiterate children in Durban and providing them with a bright future,” she said.
The holistic approach, said Lukan, included intellectual, spiritual, physical and emotional development. In addition the children are fed two delicious meals a day. For many, these meals are the only form of sustenance they receive, she added.
Recently the school celebrated its 20th anniversary and with that has a whole new set of projects planned to improve its service to the community.
“At the moment we have very little shade on campus and so we hope to put up a big shade awning, which will enable us to bring our lessons outside. Also, there is very little grass on the grounds, and therefore a very limited safe space where the children can run and play. We hope to lay down some artificial grass (to limit water usage as well as maintenance coats) to increase that area,” she said.
Lukan has made an appeal for any donations to assist with these new projects.
The school was started in September 1995 by two women from the Manning Road Methodist Church, who felt that no child should be illiterate. Lukan joined the team six years ago as a voluntary music teacher, and then when the former principal retired she was asked to take over her role.
Contact Theresa on 031 309 4937 or via e-mail at makabongwe.za@gmail.com.
