THE HISTORY OF THE SUN CITY NURSERY SCHOOL
This history written by Mrs. Thelma Henderson was copied verbatim. The school benefitted immensely from her tireless efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor and destitute.
1995
The story of events leading up to the establishment of this lovely facility for pre-school children is an interesting one and deserves to be told. People from Grahamstown with nowhere to live, along with farm labourers and their families who left the land to settle closer to shops, clinics, and schools, have, over the last twenty years, settled into what has become known as Sun City. During this period the number of dwellings increased along with the number of people who lived there. Homeless coloured people started building corrugated iron shacks on the edge of their township on the site of an old rubbish dump. Before long there were fifty structures with ten people living in each dwelling. Over the years the Municipality has paid increasing attention to their plight, and street taps and bucket toilets were provided. Many of the people were unemployed and many small children could often be seen playing on the rubbish dumps. In ???About five years ago electricity was brought to the area and people had light in their homes. There were no facilities in this little community until Sister Edwina, of the Community of the Resurrection, started a Soup Kitchen in October 1984.
In 1985 Sister Edwina, of the Community of the Resurrection, built a small shack and rudimentary kitchen to provide a Soup Kitchen for the needy residents. She ran it on “the smell of an oil rag” by collecting leftovers from School kitchens and limp vegetables from green grocers in the town. Volunteers helped her to provide soup and bread to hungry people on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She also ran prayer meetings in people’s homes and helped with their personal problems. 1986 showed some 50 houses and between 450 and 500 men, women, and children. In this year she appealed to Mrs. Henderson of the CSD to raise funds to build a nursery school for the many children who needed day care and nourishing food. In November 1986 she visited me in my capacity as Director of the Centre for Social Development at Rhodes University and asked if we could do something to assist with funding for another shack which could be used for the pre-school children of the area. While some thought was being given to this, I asked Miss Rose Spanneberg, one of the Centre’s Fieldworkers, to start training two suitable women from the community as child-care workers. This was done with a donation of R20 000,00 from the Confree Data Corporation in 1987.
Miss Monica and Miss Marjorie Blom were selected, and training commenced in earnest. The Centre provided funds for basic equipment and a small pre-school for a limited number of children was started in Sister Edwina’s kitchen.
1987
In March Mr Steve Connisbee and Mrs Audrey Alexander visited Grahamstown with a group of their colleagues from Control Data Corporation (CSD) in Johannesburg to make a video of PLATO projects at Rhodes University and in GADRA Education’s Science Education Centre.
They indicated that they would like to make a substantial donation for a community project in an area of desperate need. It was only natural that I brought them to Sun City, where they saw the Soup Kitchen and the fledgling Nursery School in the shack.
They were deeply moved by what they saw, and their desire to help was confirmed. After this, things really moved. CDC made a definite commitment to give R20 000.00 to this project, which was to be supervised by the CSD. Mr Humphrey Doyle, the builder, erected the structure in record time, while Miss Spanneberg ordered furniture and equipment.
Would you believe that by the middle of April, Sun City Nursery School was a going concern with over 30 children aged 3 to 6! The fees were R2.00 per month and Miss Sandra Speckman was appointed as cook.
SANDRA SPECKMAN
Miss Spanneberg, the driving force behind the project, continued to conduct training courses twice a week with Marjorie and Monica Blom until she went overseas. What was accomplished is nothing short of a miracle and I particularly want to thank and congratulate Miss Spanneberg for the outstanding job she did. The official opening of the new building took place on Saturday November 19th.
1988
A Steering Committee was elected at the March Parent/Staff meeting. Mrs Lee Hurrell (CSD), Mrs Mackay, Mr Blom, Miss A Maarman, Mrs Siebert and Mrs G Roman were elected under the Chairmanship of Miss Spanneberg. Mr M Beauvais was appointed Treasurer. The school was extended as it was too small for the increasing number of children. The first AGM was held in August and the Guest Speaker was Mr Etienne Mager. The Constitution was presented by Mrs Henderson and adopted. A Management Committee was elected: Miss R Spanneberg (Chairman), Mrs Y Valentine, Pastor Moodley, Miss A Maarman, Mr H Jantjies, Miss H Nelson, and Mrs L Hurrell (CSD). Mrs M Antrobus organised the Christmas Party.
1989
60 children were accepted in January, but the number increased to 75 by February. Mrs Anne Irwin replaced Mrs Hurrell on the Management Committee and Pastor Moodley was elected Chairman. A fundraising event raised R223.00. As at least half the children were not paying fees, it was agreed that they should pay even a nominal amount to remain registered. Staff training by Miss Spanneberg was conducted on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. A profit of R310.00 was realised from a Curry and Rice sale in May. The first school outing took the form of a picnic in the Botanical Gardens. The second AGM was held on May 31 and the Guest Speaker was Mrs Grace Ngcete. Arrangements were made with the Clinic for the treatment of sick children. St. Paul’s College wives agreed to take over the collection of food for the school from the VGHS and DSG kitchens in the place of Sister Edwina. The staff attended the CSD June training course run by Mrs Irwin. In July the School received its registration certificate from the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs. Miss Spanneberg filled out the subsidy application forms. The Rhodes Journalism Department made a video of the school and Sun City. The DSG children arranged a party for the children at DSG. The non-payment of school fees continued to be a big problem. The first subsidy cheque from the House of Representatives was received totalling R561.25. A disco at the Albany Lounge raised R309.70. St. Paul’s College students and the members of St. Bartholomew’s Church entertained the children to Christmas parties.
In 1989 while Sr Edwina had ground adjacent to the Nursery School cleared Mrs. Henderson made an application for a Community Hall to the Equal Opportunity Foundation for an amount of R10000,00.
Before this appeal was met the “Sisters of the Community of the Resurrection” responded with a donation of R20 000,00.
These funds were used to construct a basic structure with no ceiling, bare corrugated iron walls and no furniture. Miss Cathie Atkinson attended to the building operation and Sister Edwina, with the assistance of Mr. George Rensburg and volunteer helpers, erected a fence. A 1000-gallon water tank was installed.
The first Community Hall Management meeting was held on November 22nd, 1989, and from that date onwards monthly meetings have been held with Mrs. Henderson in the chair.
Rules and regulations for the Hall were drawn up and the first big function was held on November 30th when the Nursery School’s Graduation Ceremony and Nativity Play were staged. Mr. Jantjies and Miss Jeanette Draghoender had their wedding there in December.
1990
74 children were enrolled in January. Dr B la Trobe gave the school an anaerobic lavatory. Mrs Yvonne Valentine took over the job of purchasing food and cleaning materials. Miss Henrietta Nelson was asked to help in a temporary capacity. As it was decided that the school would remain open until 4pm, 70 blankets and 35 mattresses were purchased for the children’s sleep-time. Salaries were adjusted for the additional hours worked. Lights and plugs were installed at a cost of R940.00. The third AGM was held in March and Mrs. Valentine was elected Chairman. Mrs. Daniels was the guest speaker. The children were taken on a visit to the beach by the St. Paul’s College students. A Curry and Rice evening in August raised R300.00. School Fees were set at R12.00 per month. The combined Graduation, Nativity Play and Christmas Party was held in November. As Mrs. Valentine went overseas on study-leave, Mrs. Faith Coetzee offered to take over the shopping responsibilities.
A clinic was started in the Hall on Wednesday mornings and the sisters from the Albany Road Municipal Clinic joined the Management Committee.
A ceiling was installed at a cost of R3500,00 and the “Sisters of the Community of the Resurrection” donated three tables, twelve chairs and a table-tennis table.
Mr. Simon Bullick and the “Rhodes MethSoc” students started a gardening project and involved the youth of Sun City in flower and vegetable growing. They were provided with gardening equipment and a garden shed. Mr. Michael Keyser proved to be a useful volunteer by helping in the garden and painting donated furniture.
During the Municipal strike the residents of Sun City emptied their night soil into the streets as a form of protest because buckets were not being emptied.
The floor of the Hall started crumbling and Mr. Ivan Daniels, the original builder, was called in to patch it up. Sister Edwina had the land next to the Hall cleared and asked the Municipality to start a Play Park.
We were disappointed that few families in the community were interested in growing vegetables in their own gardens.
On June 21 and 22 Discos in the Hall became unruly, alcohol was consumed on the premises and there was no control.
Three people were stabbed and a few days later a man was shot and killed. Gang warfare broke out between the Sun City and Bowker Street residents. All the people in the area were fearful for their lives and property. Mr. Mark Walker of St Paul’s Theological College organized a series of Peace and Prayer Meetings.
Twenty-four stacking chairs were bought.
1991
The year began with the mindless smashing of a toilet. Concern was expressed that the local community are not taking responsibility for their project. Hillel House donated twenty-nine chairs.
The Department of Manpower ran courses in the Hall for 14 days and the Brownies started to use the facility.
Kingswood School children provided soup and sandwiches for the Soup Kitchen on Fridays. A second water tank was installed.
St Andrews boys helped at the Soup Kitchen on Tuesdays and under Fr Goodyear’s supervision did painting, repair and gardening jobs.
The verandah was completed, and the Hall floor was patched up for the second time.
Three swings, a slide and a combination gym were donated by the Grahamstown Management Committee for the Play Park. In August Sister Edwina attended her last meeting as she has been transferred to the London Motherhouse of the Community for three years
The Brownies had an excellent year with outings, picnics, farm visits, games and sewing and dancing lessons.
Mr. Walker raised R50 000,00 for the St Paul’s cement and block project for the building of houses at Hooggenoeg.
Numerous Sun City households moved up to the new development. Masifunde ran a Literacy Project in the Hall for a few months.
Mrs. Henderson applied to Dr R Venter of the National Nutrition Social Development Program (NNSDP) for funds for the Soup Kitchen.
Miss Spanneberg took over the Chairmanship of the Management Committee. 74 children were enrolled in January. The AGM was held in May and the guest speaker was Mrs. Valerie Kariem. The school started using the CSD Theme Packs developed by Mrs. Irwin. Sister Edwina said goodbye to the school and left for an overseas sojourn of three years. The DSG and VGHS continued to provide excellent food. The children, staff and committee members said goodbye to Miss Spanneberg who left to do postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. Mrs. Irwin undertook to take over her responsibilities. A Disco fundraising event brought in R541.60. A tape recorder, wall safe and refrigerator were purchased. The Graduation Ceremony, Nativity Play and Christmas party were held in November.
1992
BROWNIES The school enrolled 75 children in January, of whom 64 were Colored and 12 Africans. The attendance this year was excellent. Material was donated by T. Birch and Co for graduation gowns and hoods. Because of the great heat build-up in the school, an extra
window was installed. Operation Hunger provided the school with nutritious soup powder. Miss Nelson was appointed Supervisor and was assisted by Miss Jennifer Brooks and Mrs. Theodosia Cloete. Mrs. G Jacobs took over as Cook. The school fees remained R12.00 per month. Mr. Joe van Rensburg repaired playground equipment and generously donated numerous items. The AGM was held in May and Mrs. M Antrobus was the guest speaker. Funds from the Archbishop’s Discretionary fund was received for Mrs. Cloete’s salary. The usual Nativity Play, Graduation and Christmas Party were held in November. The Brownies staged a special play.
In 1992 Mrs. Margie Antrobus was appointed Coordinator of the entire Sun City Project.
The Brownies organized and participated in a Clean-up Day.
Fruit and vegetables were stolen from the garden and the future of the gardening project looked bleak.
A gas stove was installed in the kitchen along with two power plugs.
Two Sun City mothers won prizes in the Grahamstown Breastfeeding Competition.
In May the NNSDP funding arrived, and the kitchen started serving proper nutritious meals every weekday. Problems were experienced with drunken behavior and adults not giving preference to children.
A refrigerator was purchased, and heaters were installed.
In November NNSDP Christmas food parcels were given to 65 nursery school children and 30 community children
1993
In 1993 the Hall Committee changed considerably as Miss Atkinson resigned as Treasurer after many years of sterling and devoted service and was replaced by Mr. Alan Sanderson. Mrs. Antrobus resigned as Coordinator and Mrs. Ros Davies was appointed. Mr. Keyser resigned as Caretaker and Mr. Hilpert Bruintjies took his place.
A donation of R3802,00 was received from National Food Distributors. Mr. Sutton did an excellent job with the installation of a new roof, new ceiling, wall linings, reinforced wall and a linoleum floor, cupboards, a sideboard, bright red curtains, and an electric stove were purchased. The refrigerator was moved from the school to the kitchen. Mrs. Jacobs was delighted with the improvements. At this stage she and Mrs. de Lange prepared 110 breakfasts and 250 lunches each day.
A corrugated iron two-roomed caretakers’ cottage was Mr. Bruintjies moved in.
In October, shortly after all these improvements were made burglars cut a hole in the corrugated iron wall of the kitchen and stole foodstuffs to the value of R629, 00 and kitchenware costing R319, 00. The structural damage was valued at R1515,00
Mr. Bullick resigned from the project and Mrs. Davies offered to take on his gardening responsibilities. Mrs. Joey Mann of Women Aglow started Saturday morning prayer meetings.
Food parcels provided by the NNSDP fund were presented to all the children for Christmas.
1994
In 1994 three Capel heaters were installed in the Hall.
As the IGI Insurance company had gone insolvent the insurance claims from the burglary were not met. A Trellidor was installed in the Hall to enable usage and a lock up facility for the Nursery School.
The Nursery School and Hall Committees agreed to combine in 1995.
Mrs. Davies resigned, and Ms. Katie Farrington was appointed as coordinator in July. Problems were experienced with the Caretaker and the post was declared redundant. Members of staff joined NEHAWU.
Food parcels from Premier Milling were distributed to the children at Christmas time.
Ms. Katie Farrington
1995
In 1995 Mrs. Henderson met with the members of the Grahamstown Community Trust to explore the possibility of their taking over and managing the entire project – the Hall, Play Park, Kitchen, and Nursery School. Since its inception the project has not been owned by any legal body. After the death of Miss Atkinson, Mother Nonie of the Community of the Resurrection, asked Mrs. Henderson and the CSD to take over the financial management. Now that an agreement with NEHAWU is pending Mrs. Henderson made it clear that she may not sign on behalf of the school. The Trust agreed to take ownership and accept the full responsibility for the project. Several meetings with the Hall and school committees followed. The official handover date was set for Saturday 11th March 1995.