Teacher Cynthia, who I’ve been working with at my crèche on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is a natural at working with children. She speaks to them with the utmost respect, acknowledging their feelings and needs as she guides them through conflict resolution. Teacher Cynthia has a knack for making any situation feel warm and meaningful, and it’s clear that the children gravitate toward her when they need help.
Since I’ve been here, Teacher Cynthia has demonstrated her passion for the children by spending her own time creating dramatic play props for the kids to use in the crèche. Many of these are things she’s come up with on her own. Some of the trainings provided at True North have helped to enhance her ingenuity and talent of creating learning supplies and toys out of recycled materials. The love that she puts into making these items is truly inspirational.
Among my favorite Teacher Cynthia creations are a doll made of pantyhose and a stovetop made of a cardboard box. The children are really interactive with these materials, and their interest in playing with them hasn’t waned. It is beautiful to see how the children care for the doll as if it were a baby, even using blankets to wrap the doll to their backs in the same way women do here. Both the cardboard stove and recycled material kitchen set (cups, plates, bowls, pots and pans made out of different sized plastic yogurt cups) have empowered the children to reimagine themselves and explore different roles.
— Kristen
EDvance 2019 Summer South Africa Service Program 