- Foreword
- Chapter 1 – Jill Sachs Smith
- Chapter 2 – Khwezi Mkhathini
- Chapter 3 – Kumarie Mohan
- Chapter 4 – Carry Paterson
- Chapter 5 – Jabu Mtheku
- Chapter 6 – Sue Bonney
- Chapter 7 – Phindile Khumalo
A young woman who has overcome seemingly insurmountable troubles, Grace is an inspiring person who shares the light she has found in the face of many challenges. At the time of writing, she is undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a stroke. The content that follows in in her own words, written from her hospital bed, but there is no hint of self-pity or hopelessness; instead, there is positivity and focus. She will overcome!
Grace selected a mouthpiece used in CPR as her significant object, because she sees it as both life-giving and self-protection: it revives and resuscitates and provides hope for the future.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Caversham Education Institute and its founder, Jill Sachs-Smith, for not giving up on me and helping me improve myself and my self-esteem and bringing myself and the whole team to the realization that Early Childhood Development is beyond a career that one chooses for the sake of making a living. It is about going beyond; by realizing you are building up a human whom you can guide and show how to get into a routine of being true to themselves, build their own self-esteem, and foster their own resilience; to teach children, as young as they are, how to survive life and its hardships.
I was taught how to get children to avoid phobias and believe in themselves so that they could breeze through life regardless. All this because I was nurtured and seen past being just a student, but a student who has a personal life, a not so rosy background but is fortunate enough to realize there were positives that could outweigh all the negatives, that have made my life somewhat a misery, and become an inspiration.
I got to Caversham damaged and feeling I was never going to recover from all that I have been through but through the affirmations I was taught by them, I was able to bounce back each time because Caversham actually cared for me as a unique individual and someone who can become a positive inspiration to other students and learners who will be taught by me.
When I look back, I realize I have come far and I’m still moving forward as a better individual at 34 from that child being a black African from the apartheid era where there was a lot of hate. I was the only black learner in my class in 1994 with all the other children a fair colour.
I was molested as a child, and I suffered depression due to the hardships of life and not being understood by people of the same race in my neighborhood. Then I was raped as an adult. I became suicidal; however, I survived and was the youngest in a group of mature Caversham students who all had English as a home language, which was also the language of instruction. They were more mature and naturally responsible as they had been through other courses that emphasized the importance of ECD, while they were also old enough and knew what responsibility meant since they were mostly married and aware of how to take care of children.
Today I am HOD of a pre-school that has the most unfortunate children as a majority as they are from an informal settlement; I am a mentor for Caversham students who are training as ECD teachers; and I am a locum lecturer whenever a lecturer is sick. All this is because of the time and energy that was used and invested in me during my years of ECD training at Caversham. I must mention that through Caversham’s kind treatment and the values that have been instilled in me, I have gained confidence in the industry and still have a passion for teaching young children, even after my present situation. Caversham has taught me a lot of skills and given me immense knowledge that has provided me with the resilience to bounce back from any situation. Also the fact that my pre-school principal, Judy Scholz, later became my diploma lecturer and inspired me to become a better teacher and HOD.
Thank you, Jill, and thank you, Caversham team for looking at me as part of your family rather than just another employee. I appreciate you!”
In 2022, Jill received this joyous message from Grace:
..because all the teachings and the modeling of a good Samaritan is mostly learnt from you and I’m reminded of this every day I wake up to take that first breathe, every time I advise parents/family, every time I have to wake up to those helpless and vulnerable children I teach and every time I stand in front of students that would like to grab the insight and knowledge that I received from you and still passing on…I just wanted to remind you that you are not just a super hero that is behind my salary paycheck but that you are far more and have touched many more hearts that you had anticipated you will reach by this time.
Caversham is grateful to Grace and all the inspiring people in its family who continue to send ripples of inspiration and hope throughout communities in the face of challenges.