Lindiwe, dual heritage persona doll, visits South Africa

Friday, 27 May 2011

Jane Habermehl, Devon Development Education's Early Year education coordinator has recently returned from a trip to South Africa, where she and her dual heritage persona doll Lindiwe visited Pre-School Playgroups and crèches in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. Here Jane writes about the role of persona dolls in Eary Years education and about her visit to Early Years education settings in South Africa, ten years on from a previous visit.

Lindiwe is a dual heritage persona doll, her mother is a South African, Zulu, nurse who works in Exeter and her father is an English bus driver. Persona dolls are used to introduce young children in this country to encourage them to explore, talk about and appreciate diversity. In South Africa persona dolls are used to help children to understand and come to terms with loss and illness caused by HIV Aids. For the Zulu children in the rural area I visited the persona doll training is something which would be a huge benefit but which is denied them through lack of funds.

My aim was to introduce pre-schools to each other through the doll so that pre-schools in Devon can make a more tangible link with rural African pre-schools. So far seven pre-schools have signed up for free training in using persona dolls before embarking on their new link with South Africa.

It is hoped that photographs of the doll with the pre-school children can be made into dual language resource books for the pre-school children and that this will lead to further developments for the benefit of pre-school children in both countries.

I visited 14 pre-schools and morale is fairly good despite ongoing problems. Many of the crèches are in permanent buildings but there are still some very dilapidated, overcrowded and run-down buildings in use. All have water butts and toilets (donated by the America to Africa fund) and some are in community halls or more permanent structures.

Resources are very poor although there has been some improvement in recent years. Things like tyres sunk into the ground are a simple but effective play resource for many crèches and there are more hoola hoops ad skipping ropes. All have now got a few tables and stacks of plastic chairs.

Some of the teachers I met in 2001 are still going strong. And there are many new ones but many of these have had no training. On entering the crèches it is easy to tell immediately how well the teacher is coping by the displays on the wall, the involvement of the children in play and singing and the general well being of the place. One of the major issues teachers complained of in 2001 was the lack of resources for feeding children. One or two had registered and received money for food from the social welfare department. First Aid kits have also been given out recently to all crèches.

What greatly impressed me was how much more confident and well organised the crèches have become even where little or no training is in place. Workshops and the support of the committee have helped create a recognised pattern of learning. Evidence of children's drawings on the wall, construction play, more physical play and use of home corner equipment as well as the usual singing and learning days of the week and months.

For communities who have had only formal learning by rote and for some, little training, this is a great step forward. The children are cared for and respected for their own unique qualities.

See our Early Years pages for details of what Devon Development Education can offer pre-schools in Devon.