29026017 Lizanne Swart

Hidden talents in Mamelodi township

(Note; The article you are about to read concerns another school and not the one displayed in the photographs.)



On a table in the home economics classroom lies some bright red and yellow beaded table weights and napkin rings, made by children with severe disabilities ranging from epilepsy to Down Syndrome. This is only one of many other artistic skills the learners, aged between six and 18 years, learn to make with the help of their teachers. The learners and teachers alike are enthusiastic about their artwork and are eager to showcase what they have made.

According to a spokesperson for the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi Campus, there are around 12 000 children in Mamelodi who require special education, but with only one special school in the township, the Tshegofatsong Special School, most of them are left unattended to. Started by social workers about 20 years ago, the school gets its funds from the government and is a no-fee school.

The Tshegofatsong Special School for severely disabled children focuses mainly on teaching various practical skills but also some curriculum work, which the school has to adapt themselves according to the learners’ abilities. Ms. Gadi Madisha, deputy principal at the school, explains that there “will never be any great progress curriculum-wise” and that the only way the children can perform is through their artwork. The school currently offers workshops for leatherwork, home economics, beading, art and employment skills, which help the children to distinguish colours and shapes and learn life skills. Madisha says that the children are able to use the skills that they learn outside of the school and that she frequently sees them “selling necklaces at the corner of the streets” but also adds that “some children cannot even be trained to do practical work and have to leave after 18 years”, but the school can “only give them love and care” in that period.

The lack of space and a sufficient number of classrooms for each workshop are the main difficulties the school currently has to deal with. The home economics and laundry classes share a room due to insufficient space.

At the leather craft workshop, Mr. Ben Rivele teaches the children to make leather Bible covers and key holders in the shape of the African continent. “We do not sell the products, but occasionally people who visit the school would buy some of the leatherwork”, Rivele explains. As the children are able to learn practical work much faster than syllabus work, it only takes about 20 minutes to make the Bible covers.

According to Mr. Evan Mokobane, the teacher in the computer room, the children’s favourite subject is computer studies, of which they have an hour long class each day. Mokobane teaches them basic computer skills such as how to use certain programmes and how to type, whilst listening to music. “The learners enjoy the computers very much”, admits Mokobane and continues “we plan to install a programme for disabled children, ‘Learning Access Suite’, soon”.

As the children have difficulty in writing and drawing, they make use of magazine cuttings to create pictures and self-portraits in the art class. New workshops the school offers this year include woodwork and laundry classes, but Madisha says that the school does not have enough budgets to set these projects fully in motion. The school also aims to continue the bakery class if they have the funds.

After matriculation, some of the learners join the school’s workshop to help out with the sewing of school uniforms. The majority of the learners though often struggle to find a job after 18 years at the school. However, during their years at the Tshegofatsong Special School, they have the opportunity to showcase their talents and acquire valuable life skills.