During the 10-day visit to South Africa, the local team of street educators of Inanda went through 8 workshops to learn more about the vision behind the mobile school, the practical use of the tool and the 280+ educational materials. For this project, the educational materials were also translated to Zulu language, the most widely spoken language in the province of Kwazulu-Natal.
The brand-new mobile school will operate from the Siyathuthuka preschool and creche, located centrally in the community of Bhambayi. Around the creche, there are a lot of migrant families who struggle to have access to basic services for their children. Moreover, many children in the community are exposed to different forms of abuse, which makes non-formal outreach with the tool extremely relevant for the social workers who aim to build a strong trusting relationship with the community.
After 3 days of intense training, the team was ready to hit the streets, and what an experience it was! The first session was conducted close to the preschool, at the playground of Bhambayi Park. During the session, about 80 hugely enthusiastic children showed up to get to know the mobile school and the educational games.
At the end of the session, Sne – one of the social workers of Inanda – conducted a creative roleplay activity at the sliding door panel. Both children and their parents immediately started asking when the mobile school would be back on the streets, since it provides all the children of the area with a safe space to play, have fun and learn.
From now on, the team of Inanda will reach out to children in Bhambayi 3 times per week with their mobile school. Curious to see more footage of our new mobile school? Check out the short video below: