“They learn to play equally and fairly through toys and have fun at the same time.”
These are the words of Coleen Pietersen, founder of Tender, Love and Care (TLC) in Table View, who believes that toy therapy can go a long way to help children and bring families together.
They kicked off their Back2school Toy Therapy Programme recently, aimed at teaching skills and better education explained through toy therapy, with over 205 children.
“We talk about abuse, youth development, child play, trauma counselling and then we also take it into the settlements and do preventative community outreaches with it. I’ve sent all my staff on some Lego toy therapy training to equip them with the necessary educational skills. They then do various outreaches in settlements,” says Pietersen.
They have partnered with an educational organisation that provides training on how to use Lego with the resources sponsored by the Lego Foundation.
More programmes
TLC reaches over 340 youth and children weekly with their community ECD preventative afternoon programmes.
“This is done through dance, drama, life skills, toy therapy and GBV awareness for the youth and young adults,” Pietersen says.
TLC deals every day with children that have been abused in various ways, physically, sexually, emotionally and that have lived on the streets of Cape Town, some of them even for years.
These children have taken drugs and had to live on their own from a very young age.
They had to fight their way through a difficult, hard and dangerous life, not worthy the one of a child.
“Our organisation is trying to help these children and make their lives better. We run several facilities for our care and preventative programmes. To help even the youngest kids, TLC erected educare centres, located in the Table View Police Station, that serve the purpose of caring for troubled children during the week and preparing them for school. These kids need love and care and sometimes even need to be fed after the weekend because they do not get food at home. By feeding and teaching them basic reading, writing and maths skills we try to give them the care and the education they deserve and that they do not receive at home.”
The rehabilitation programmes for children and youth that were addicted to drugs and have been living on the street take place at the Skills Development Centre in Parklands.
Caring for others
TLC is also taking care of seven informal settlements in the Cape Town area with more than 120 families living there. The children are provided with the educare programmes several times a week to prepare them for school, additionally TLC organises youth and sport activities.
Other programmes deal with health issues deriving from the bad living conditions, specially aimed at the mothers and their kids living in the settlements. Ultimately, the goal is to help these small communities reach self-sufficiency.
The organisation also runs a street ministry project, trying to get people off the streets or helping them with blankets and food in their struggle for survival against the cold weather and the rain during the winter season in Cape Town.
“None of this can be done without the continuous effort of the many volunteers and supporters that commit themselves with great effort to the programmes at the office, Skills Development Centre and in the settlements.
“We attend various meetings with the police, schools, different community organisations and representatives from the City of Cape Town.”
