26 May 2023
It’s early on a Thursday afternoon and a Westville Boys’ High School bus, filled with elite grade 10 rugby players, is wending its way towards KwaDabeka. It’s not match day, though. They’re on their way to Zamokuhle Preschool and Creche.
There, down a short dusty road, the boys exit the bus and are greeted by an excited group of young children, happy to see their big brothers again.
Waiting at the gate is Jen Du Bois, a former teacher and the KZN Coordinator for Durban – Chic Mamas (chicmamasdocare.org). The organisation supports four preschools, three of which it has built from the ground up.
The day’s activities
While the boys gather the young children together in a circle and begin the day’s activities, she explains what is happening: “We’ve given the boys basic structures to follow. They want to focus on ball skills, because of their passion for rugby. We try to incorporate that.
“You’ll see just now, they’re doing litter awareness. They’ve got a garbage bin of multi-coloured balls that are going to be scattered as litter. The children will run around and pick up the different coloured balls and put them in the bin, and hopefully get to say which colour they are picking up. It’s playing and awareness, learning through play.
“Then, they will do ball skills, where we are looking at social interaction with the kids, being able to pass the ball, not hold onto it for themselves. They’ll do things that feature gross motor and fine motor skills.
“We are trying as far as possible to get the boys not just coming to play with the kids, but to have a purpose in the play. The social interactions that they’re experiencing – the big kids and the little kids – is so valuable.”
Applause and clapping and excitement fill the air. The Westville boys are fully into this.
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Chic Mamas support
Jenny Spiteri, a volunteer with Chic Mamas, and an ex-Principal of Glenmore Primary, is watching on. She’s here to provide guidance, along with her husband, David, who preceded Jenny as the Principal of Glenmore.
“It’s a wonderful way to be involved in early childhood development,” Jenny says. David, who is sitting quietly to one side, provides transport when it is needed. He also helps with maintenance. Of course, he has plenty of knowledge to impart, too.
Westville Boys’ High backing
So, how is it that early on a Thursday afternoon a group of Westville Boys’ High students find themselves in KwaDabeka at the preschool?
The idea began with Westville 1st XV coach Njabulo “Jabz” Zulu. He explains: “In the third term, we do an Outreach Week with the grade 10s, and I went with a group that went to a school in Claremont, which happened to be one of the four schools that we go to now.
“I really enjoyed it. We were making vegetable gardens and painting stuff, and I felt like I would like to expose my rugby boys to this, not just for outreach, but to offer something that was more consistent.
“I feel we’re so privileged at our school. If we have an opportunity to give back and play, be big brothers, I thought that would be something that was really great, not just for the kids, but for us.”
Making it happen
Time had to be made to support the preschools. Zulu says he was fortunate to have strong support from WBHS.
“Normally, we have timetable sports. Every grade has a specific day [for that], between about 10:40 and 12:50. They get time to do their specific sport. But [Director of Rugby] Dusty Noble and I asked if we could use that time once a month to come here.
“Fortunately, there was a lot of buy-in from Pam Hayward, the Director of Sport. Our Headmaster’s heart is very much into things like this. I am fortunate to have a school which buys into the things into which I buy in.”
The preschoolers have benefitted, but so, too, have the Westville boys, Zulu says: “I think they have grown. One of the things I was really nervous about in the beginning was the energy that the guys would have. Would they be able to do justice to the kids, because the kids are excited? Were the guys going to see this as a chore?
Smiling, he says: “They’ve been really great, and it is something that they look forward to. Once a month, we come and play with the kids.
Four destinations
“On a Monday, the grade 12s and 11s go to KwaMashu. The grade 8s are on a Tuesday. They go to Claremont. On a Wednesday, we go to Reservoir Hills. That’s my grade 9s.”
Jen Du Bois shares a story about the impact that the support of Westville Boys’ High has had: “A couple of the schools have commented that on the day that Westville Boys have been there, suddenly on that afternoon they’re getting more enrolments, which is awesome!”
Claremont, where Westville rugby coach Jabz Zulu first visited, battled for survival for a long time. Now, though, it has grown from four children to 38 in just over a year.
The role of Chic Mamas Do Care
Chic Mamas Do Care plays an integral role in supporting the preschools, and it’s about much more than a financial handout. Jenny Spiteri explains: “Our support of early childhood development schools is to teach them to become self-sufficient, starting off from nothing, and not to just give as a charity, but to teach them how to run their school, and to help with their infrastructure.”
The organisation raises funding through its four shops: in Westville, Linden (Johannesburg), Hout Bay and Wynberg (Cape Town). People donate high-quality clothing to Chic Mamas, which is then sold to fund the causes they back. The Westville shop is located at 2 Cedar Road.
It’s a funky spot, with an enticing array of clothes presented according to colour. It’s also popular with people looking for matric dance dresses and wedding dresses, Jenny Spiteri explains.
Check them out online to see what’s happening, what’s in the shop, and to learn more about the causes they support. You can even indulge in online shopping – Chic Mamas Durban (loveitagain.co.za). They’re doing great work for fantastic causes.
Fulfilling relationships
Meanwhile, at the Zamokuhle Preschool and Creche, happy sounds fill the air, shrieks of laughter and giggles, the energy of positive interactions. Some of the young children have their favourites, some of the Westville boys, too. These are fulfilling relationships built through consistent support.
When, at last, it’s time to head back to Westville Boys’ High, the young children wave goodbye as their big brothers drift away until the next visit, when they’ll be eagerly welcomed back for more fun and games, learning and encouragement.
This is education, all-round. It’s not what is typically taught in the classroom, but one can feel, literally, that these lessons are among the most important that the boys of Westville Boys’ High and the youngsters from Zamokuhle will learn.
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