On Wednesday 20 November six children graduate from the Children of Light Educare. This is our first group of graduates! Jacqueline started with us at the beginning of 2018 when she was 3 years old and lives in the Hadji Ibrahim informal settlement in Rylands. Due to neglect and suffering complex trauma she had difficulty relating to others, adults and children. Attention seeking behaviour such as tantrums, resistance, and lashing out at others for no apparent reason was typical of the interaction we saw from her. The school provided a safe and stable environment for her and over time the staff gained her trust. Slowly she was able to develop the capacities for relationships and self-regulation.
The other five graduates are all from Pook se Bos informal settlement and started at the school late in 2018 or during 2019. Jacqueline has been with us the longest, we’ve seen her sad when her friends from Hadji Ibrahim left the school, we’ve witnessed her struggle to adjust when new children arrived from other informal settlements and we’ve smiled with her as her confidence has shone through. She will be attending Christel House next year, with most of our other graduates, and we know that she is well prepared for this next big step.
