Taking education into the home – a community workshop on health and safety

Our Grade R teacher, Funeka Jija, is also a skilled facilitator and is responsible for facilitating our community workshops on issues of relevance to early childhood development and education. She recently organized a workshop with parents, to discuss health and safety issues in the home. This is Funeka’s report on the process and outcomes of the workshop:

38 participants attended the workshop on the 17th April 2010 at the Jujurha Early Learning Centre. The purpose of the workshop was:

• To help community members understand the importance of child health and safety in the home

• To improve understanding broadly about hygiene in the home

• To empower parents to take full responsibility as first teachers of their children in the home

Sub-topics included:

• General cleanliness

• Use of toilets

• Immunisations

• Keeping important health records for children safely at home eg. clinic cards, birth certificates

• Safety eg. keeping medication out of the reach of children

The workshop included practical activities – participants were shown how to make BIG envelopes to keep their child’s records in at home and they were shown an example of a cardboard box that can be used for storing medicines in the home. Everyone enjoyed making something for themselves. The day also provided a learning opportunity for community members to understand the difference between a meeting and a workshop.

Some feedback on the workshop from participants:

“Funeka, this workshop has been an eye opener for us because we always take things for granted not knowing that we undermine our children’s rights” Community participant: Nolesile

“I have seen the difference between a workshop and a meeting. This is my first time to be in a workshop. I have gained a lot” Community participant: Nokhonglas

“The Bulungula Incubator is playing a vital role in our community by providing us with good people and good information that enlightens our minds. The information we get from this workshop is very important for each of us to take into consideration. We really appreciate and need more workshops so that we can get more knowledge and skills, just like other communities” Community participant: Nolethile

The workshop was fruitful and interesting for everyone who attended. A challenge was that some were late, but they apologized as they noticed the interesting and important information shared.

Report prepared by Funeka Jija