The Eagle’s Nest Kindergarten and Pre-School:
Eagle’s Nest is located about an hour’s drive southwest of Cape Town, directly on the N2 highway, in the middle of the impoverished township of Grabouw – a great kindergarten with an integrated pre-school for 90 children from the community. Together with our partner association Lebenslinien e.V. and the indispensable operators of the kindergarten Maria and Selwyn, this kindergarten could finally be opened in May 2021 after 2 years of construction. Since its opening, this place has been the highlight of the township – it stands for equal opportunities, safety, fun and above all personality development. Some people from the community see in it the hope and belief in a better life for the next generation. It has succeeded in creating a place for the poorest children in the community where they can experience security, structure, carefree living, fun, sensible nutrition, and also sanitary facilities for a few hours a day and are equipped with a mindset that gives them hope of successfully completing school and thus later escaping the lack of prospects in the township.
The path towards a new vision
In the Grabouw community, Eagle’s Nest has been accepted with pride and gratitude. People no longer feel forgotten and disadvantaged but taken seriously and fully supported. As a result, not only all the people directly involved in the project protect Eagle’s Nest – but the whole community also pays attention to constant security and against criminal acts such as the vandalism of such buildings, which is often pronounced in the townships. With Maria and Selwyn, it was also possible to win over two deeply committed and trusted operators of the kindergarten – because: they both grew up in the township. No one knows the concerns and problems of the people in the township better than the two of them.
The Eagle’s Nest Community Centre
It is obvious at first glance that growing up in a township is in no way comparable to western conditions. But when the kindergarten was opened and Maria and Selwyn reported on their experiences, it quickly became clear that the worries and hardships are much greater than expected. The kindergarten with integrated pre-school is an elementary first building block to get the children out of an endless loop of this negative world of unemployment, lack of perspective, alcohol and drug addiction, outbreaks of violence, neglect, hunger, crime, AIDS and child pregnancies. This environment often leads to children remaining there after kindergarten or preschool, no longer being supported, and not making their way out.
We see the only solution to offer the children and people in the township a long-term perspective in our new project “Eagle’s Nest Community Centre”. The goal of a community is to change the behaviour of its members, i.e., it creates value by changing the behaviour of its target group. Through the immense cohesion in the township, children, adolescents, parents, and senior citizens should have the same opportunity to further their education and escape the negative spiral. Especially for children and adolescents, the so-called “after care” is important – away from the negative and dangerous streets to support with homework, learning, job applications and steering their interests in the right direction, such as music or sports. But perspectives should also be shown to older people: In the planned library or internet café they will be reintroduced to new media and supported with assistance. Our mission is to put the mind-set and life of the community on a positive path.