Komatipoort children mark Belgian hearts
Even after two months of living in a strange country and taking care of children from different cultures, five Belgian students are overflowing with enthusiasm and passion for early childhood development (ECD).
KOMATIPOORT – “Marie-Julie Lingier, Lize Scheldeman, Valentine de Vlaminck, Lisa Marreel and Selien van Dessel are born teachers with a passion and calling for educating children,” said Marietjie Poulton, manager of Komati Care Centre.
Poulton took the group of students, from Vives and Thomas Moore schools in Belgium, under her wing while they completed a three-month internship at preschools in the area, forming part of their diploma in ECD.
The women arrived in Komatipoort on February 3 and said they had met so many people since then. Read about their arrival here.
“When we go to the shops now, people greet and talk to us now,” one of the students said, as the group gathered around a table in their home for a quick chat with Corridor Gazette after school on Friday afternoon. “People are very social here, even to strangers.”
With wide smiles the students all agreed they would gladly repeat the experience, should they be given the chance.
They worked at Komati Care Centre in Orlando and Kwetternes and Toddle Tots in Komatipoort, and the children, community and teachers have crept deep into their hearts.
The students said in some classes they found the method and vision schools here and in Belgium to be much the same.
At the Komati Care Centre, their biggest challenge was to be creative with the few resources available at the school. Poulton said the students sat down in the dust with the children to teach them and, before long, the teachers joined them.
One of the most valuable lessons they learned was how to handle the different cultures, and in the case of Komati Care Centre, how to communicate without language. “This is useful as in Belgium we now have refugees, and they cannot always speak the local language,” a student said.
The group explained they had learned to use expressions and gestures to communicate their intent.
The students get bright-eyed when talking about “their” children and say it is the little moments they’ll always remember.
“When you have a child on your lap or you’ve taught them a song and they come back again and again to sing it to you,” the group explained.
Between their work, homework and studies, the students have found time to visit the Kruger National Park several times and will try to make time for more before they leave at the end of the month. They were very enthusiastic about the animals they’ve seen, such as a pride of lions.
As a memento of their time here, and part of the school projects, the students will paint playground games like hopscotch on the pavement at Komati Care Centre.
They stated they would miss the hospitality of the community, “Marietjie”, the teachers and children they’ve bonded with the most.
