Friday, 13 April 2012
Day Eleven: Lime Acres to Kuruman (111 Kms)
Today was a mother of a day with one uphill
after another. We also held two workshops, one at the
Kuruman Christian Academy with 8 teachers and 2 parents and one at the
Masakhane Educentre with over 50 parents.
The guys took a lot of strain today as the ascent was titanic and incessant. We quietly became more and more desperate for them because with each rise we expected to see a downhill, but no such luck. Zane and I left the cyclists at about 10h45 to travel ahead to our first workshop in Kuruman at 12h00. The Christian Academy is an interesting little school as it has a special needs class included in the mainstream school. The class has 9 children and they have Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cognitive disability and one was autistic.
The teacher of the class is untrained as a special needs teacher but her enthusiasm and passion for what she is doing makes up for her lack of formal training. She is thirsty for knowledge and when I invited her to see how we do things at The Key, and that we would not charge her for the ‘training’, she was flabbergasted as there are unfortunately many people out there who charge a fortune for any kind of specialised training. She is very keen to take up the offer at some stage. As a thank you to us for doing a workshop she gave me a very elaborate book with one laminated page of photos after another of her class, their parents, their relatives and lots of herself.
The guys arrived towards the end of the workshop exhausted but still able to speak to people individually. Shaun did a great job talking to one parent who broke down during the workshop after telling us her story of struggling as a single parent of a child with autism.
We then together headed out to Bakhara-Budolong the township just outside Kuruman where we did assessments in February. We did a workshop at the Masakhane Educentre with over 50 parents. There was a lot of interest in what we had to say and another parent who has an 8 year old child with cerebral palsy also broke down after telling us that she could not find a school for her child. It is heart breaking knowing what can be done for her child and feeling as if one’s hands are tied at the same time.
After the workshop we took the scenic route to Kathu (Pieter’s fault) via Hotazel. We finally arrived at the van Heerdens’ home (sister of Pauli Nigrini, one of our teachers) where we sat in a lapa enjoying a sundowner in Kelkiewyn Street with Willem and Louise and their daughters Jana, Katinka and Fenji . Shaun and Mark left us to stay at Shaun’s sister-in-law’s place and we sat down to a sumptuous meal of curry and rice and poached plum-coloured pears with dollops of cream.
Equally as good was an early night on a satisfied tummy. It is sometimes difficult though to unwind from an emotional day and to switch off from concerns arising from what we had heard from despairing parents. Falling asleep however is always a welcome relief and it provides the strength for the start of a new day.
The guys took a lot of strain today as the ascent was titanic and incessant. We quietly became more and more desperate for them because with each rise we expected to see a downhill, but no such luck. Zane and I left the cyclists at about 10h45 to travel ahead to our first workshop in Kuruman at 12h00. The Christian Academy is an interesting little school as it has a special needs class included in the mainstream school. The class has 9 children and they have Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cognitive disability and one was autistic.
The teacher of the class is untrained as a special needs teacher but her enthusiasm and passion for what she is doing makes up for her lack of formal training. She is thirsty for knowledge and when I invited her to see how we do things at The Key, and that we would not charge her for the ‘training’, she was flabbergasted as there are unfortunately many people out there who charge a fortune for any kind of specialised training. She is very keen to take up the offer at some stage. As a thank you to us for doing a workshop she gave me a very elaborate book with one laminated page of photos after another of her class, their parents, their relatives and lots of herself.
The guys arrived towards the end of the workshop exhausted but still able to speak to people individually. Shaun did a great job talking to one parent who broke down during the workshop after telling us her story of struggling as a single parent of a child with autism.
We then together headed out to Bakhara-Budolong the township just outside Kuruman where we did assessments in February. We did a workshop at the Masakhane Educentre with over 50 parents. There was a lot of interest in what we had to say and another parent who has an 8 year old child with cerebral palsy also broke down after telling us that she could not find a school for her child. It is heart breaking knowing what can be done for her child and feeling as if one’s hands are tied at the same time.
After the workshop we took the scenic route to Kathu (Pieter’s fault) via Hotazel. We finally arrived at the van Heerdens’ home (sister of Pauli Nigrini, one of our teachers) where we sat in a lapa enjoying a sundowner in Kelkiewyn Street with Willem and Louise and their daughters Jana, Katinka and Fenji . Shaun and Mark left us to stay at Shaun’s sister-in-law’s place and we sat down to a sumptuous meal of curry and rice and poached plum-coloured pears with dollops of cream.
Equally as good was an early night on a satisfied tummy. It is sometimes difficult though to unwind from an emotional day and to switch off from concerns arising from what we had heard from despairing parents. Falling asleep however is always a welcome relief and it provides the strength for the start of a new day.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Day Ten: Kimberley to Lime Acres (165 kms)
We started the day with an early drive from
Bloemfontein to Kimberley via the charming little town of Boshof. We then split
in Kimberley so that one vehicle could head to the airport to pick up Mark
Buckley, godfather to Nic and a volunteer driver until the 16th.
The guys did really well again today killing 165kms by 15h30 after a late start from Kimberley. We had been warned that the road would be treacherous with lots of heavy trucks but the traffic was in fact not all that bad. Te last hill into Lime Acres was like Everest to the cyclists though.
At 14h00 Zane and I broke away from the cyclists to meet up with Charmaine Olivier who had arranged a workshop for us in Lime Acres and who provided accommodation, dinner and breakfast at a mining guest house for us.
The workshop started at 15h00 with 10 attendees, two of them being parents whose children are being refused placements at local schools. We had some lively discussions about the problems parents face in small towns. Neither of the two children are allowed to be in the local schools, one child is allowed to attend one of the schools for an hour a day with a facilitator. Departmental officials in fact told one parent to send her 7 year old to a boarding school in Kimberley or to relocate to a town where there is a special needs school. This suggestion is of course against her constitutional right to live where she pleases and it goes against White Paper 6 to refuse a child education. The problems are massive with not only a real lack of understanding of special needs and inclusive education (or is it ignorance?) but a total unwillingness on the part of principals and educational officialsto ensure that schools are inclusive. The lack of services for children with autism in a city like Johannesburg seem minor in comparison to what parents of small towns have to contend with. On the whole, not enough is being done for children with special needs in the country. The question is what to do about it.
The guys arrived at the workshop an hour after it started, exhausted but willing to say their parts. Shaun (Ballet Dancer) Murphy delivered his speech in his cycling shorts while trying to keep his legs crossed at the same time. He really had everyone’s attention though. There was more lively debate around diet, laughter about the quirkiness of autism, and a tangible hunger to learn more about autism and disability in general.
We retired to the guest house starving and tucked into burgers, steaks, customised pizzas and malva pudding. We were extremely grateful that we did not have to prepare food, that we could eat and head for bed. We have had AUSOME accommodation wherever we have been and the Finsch Mine Guest House was no exception. People everywhere have also been very friendly and caring.
Lime Acres is another lovely little town whose name does not refer to the main colour of the town (despite it being in the Green Kalahari) but because of the lime deposits that are being mined here. There is enough lime there to be mined for the next 800 years. There is also a kimberlite pipe of diamonds that has another 20 years of mining left. When this pipe is depleted there will be no more diamonds to be mined in SA. Diamonds are not forever after all!
Thank you today to:
The guys did really well again today killing 165kms by 15h30 after a late start from Kimberley. We had been warned that the road would be treacherous with lots of heavy trucks but the traffic was in fact not all that bad. Te last hill into Lime Acres was like Everest to the cyclists though.
At 14h00 Zane and I broke away from the cyclists to meet up with Charmaine Olivier who had arranged a workshop for us in Lime Acres and who provided accommodation, dinner and breakfast at a mining guest house for us.
The workshop started at 15h00 with 10 attendees, two of them being parents whose children are being refused placements at local schools. We had some lively discussions about the problems parents face in small towns. Neither of the two children are allowed to be in the local schools, one child is allowed to attend one of the schools for an hour a day with a facilitator. Departmental officials in fact told one parent to send her 7 year old to a boarding school in Kimberley or to relocate to a town where there is a special needs school. This suggestion is of course against her constitutional right to live where she pleases and it goes against White Paper 6 to refuse a child education. The problems are massive with not only a real lack of understanding of special needs and inclusive education (or is it ignorance?) but a total unwillingness on the part of principals and educational officialsto ensure that schools are inclusive. The lack of services for children with autism in a city like Johannesburg seem minor in comparison to what parents of small towns have to contend with. On the whole, not enough is being done for children with special needs in the country. The question is what to do about it.
The guys arrived at the workshop an hour after it started, exhausted but willing to say their parts. Shaun (Ballet Dancer) Murphy delivered his speech in his cycling shorts while trying to keep his legs crossed at the same time. He really had everyone’s attention though. There was more lively debate around diet, laughter about the quirkiness of autism, and a tangible hunger to learn more about autism and disability in general.
We retired to the guest house starving and tucked into burgers, steaks, customised pizzas and malva pudding. We were extremely grateful that we did not have to prepare food, that we could eat and head for bed. We have had AUSOME accommodation wherever we have been and the Finsch Mine Guest House was no exception. People everywhere have also been very friendly and caring.
Lime Acres is another lovely little town whose name does not refer to the main colour of the town (despite it being in the Green Kalahari) but because of the lime deposits that are being mined here. There is enough lime there to be mined for the next 800 years. There is also a kimberlite pipe of diamonds that has another 20 years of mining left. When this pipe is depleted there will be no more diamonds to be mined in SA. Diamonds are not forever after all!
Thank you today to:
·
Clint Cawood for the use of his
Nissan Interstar which made this Cycle Tour possible. It is massive and all the
equipment plus four bikes fits in easily.
·
Zane Laho for driving the
Nissan and for being willing to be with us the whole way. He is missing his
children in George very much and he celebrates his 30th birthday
with us on the 20th – we have promised to spoil him on his birthday.
·
Charmaine Olivier for arranging
the workshop, the accommodation and the meals in Lime Acres. Her efficiency has
been a pleasure to deal with.
·
Huldah Barnard for providing
the contact in Charmaine.
·
Mark Buckley who has joined the
team as a volunteer driver. Without an extra driver we would not be able to go
ahead and do the workshops.
·
Radio Riverside (Upington) and
the radio station in Springbok who want to interview us.
·
Nita Kleynhans (Pieter’s mom)
who is doing a lot of arranging in the background for workshops.
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