Life is a Journey

Poems and Stories

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Creche

All My Life

Many Thanks

My work in the Poultry Area

In the morning we start by cleaning the water troughs and we put them back with water. We put food called layers mash. If the chicken pens are dirty we clean them all. When we have finished cleaning we take all manure to the garden.

If the grounds are dirty we sweep them. At ten o'clock we move around collecting eggs. We do this everyday. We pick eggs three times a day. After some days we put some dried grass to make the chickens feel warm.

T. C., Grade 5

Good Enough Parenting

In most homes there are basic rules of behaviour, which are there for the wellbeing of the whole family. Rules help provide the clear boundaries necessary for the ultimate encouragement of self-discipline. It is however important to know how these rules are communicated. In a family, rules of behaviour are communicated primarily by the parents living them out themselves and are learnt from the earliest days of childhood. In a rehabilitation environment, discipline is also learnt by example - by watching you and the staff.

One of the successes at Matthew Rusike Children's Home is 'Good Enough Parenting'. Good Enough Parenting involves, among other things, a capacity to provide continuity of love and care. It is in this context that education and training become important. Evidence from my experience in working with children shows that lack of continuity of love and care, education and training, is nothing better than incomplete rehabilitation. Matthew Rusike Children's Home has however, managed to encourage and support school leavers to pursue tertiary education at commercial and tertiary colleges. In addition, the children are involved in self-help projects such as poultry keeping, gardening, piggery, tailoring and computer training.

In view of the very wide work of working with children, I encourage staff members at Matthew Rusike Children's Home to continue to exercise 'good enough parenting'. However, in order to do this, staff members should respect children in order for them to be respected. There should be regular communication between staff and children in order to build self-esteem in children and decision making. The childhood period is the most delicate stage of any human being, thus it should be treated with caution.

Good Enough Parenting yields good results.

Article compiled by E.A. Dhliwayo (Deputy Superintendent)

Baby Pigs!!

In recent weeks several new litters of piglets have been born, much to the excitement of the Project Officer and the team who care for the pigs each day. Unfortunately, keeping up with all the hungry new mouths to feed (to ensure that they grow to be suitable for sale) presents quite a challenge. As our Wish List suggests, there is always a great need for stock feeds. Thank you to our sponsors who have maintained their interest in this project.

My work in the Orchard

Our orchard is not very big. It is just a small place where we have planted very few different trees. But not only fruit trees were planted inside our orchard, there is a portion with lawn which is surrounded by well looked after flowers. Inside the portion there are flowers and lawn. It is not easy to plant such trees and flowers. I always water and week the area concerned. The most important thing is to look for pests that are very harmful. In our orchard there are many fruit trees, but they need care from someone who loves them. These trees eventually give us fruits which all of us eat. The fruit trees were bought by well-wishers who gave money towards the project so that we can make our own choice of trees to buy. We have fruit trees like oranges, lemons, mangoes, grapes, avocados and naartjies. We have established another portion to increase our orchard. The portion which were planted are mangoes, paw-paws, apples, leaches, peaches, apricots and guavas. We look forward to any form of assistance as to make our orchard more productive.

M. B. - Form 1