I am awesome - Abraham Kriel
“Is my mom ok?” was the only thing that Samantha (7 years) kept asking her housemother when she was committed into our care at the Maria Klopper Campus at the beginning of this year.
What Samantha and her three-year-old sister were exposed to, no child should endure. Her mom is a drug addict and they either lived in dilapidated houses without windows or on the streets. Samantha witnessed a lot of violence, drug use and poverty in that time. Yet she loves her mom.
When she came into our care she kept on wanting to do her own washing and cleaning the floors. It took her a while to realise that her new home allowed her to be a child. She started attending an English school for the first time even though Afrikaans was her first language. A volunteer assisted her with extra lessons once a week. She struggled a lot with anxiety and anger and had a very low self-esteem.
She is still worried about her mom and with a little bit of help, wrote her a letter. Fortunately mom had been to rehab recently and she wrote back assuring her that she is ok.
With all the love and dedicated help especially from her tutor, therapist and housemother Sammie, as she is affectionately called, is on her way to becoming a confident little girl. Her first term average was 49% and by 3rd term she was getting an average of 78%. “See I can do it. I am awesome and beautiful,” was what she kept telling her tutor over and over. They have a special bond and she has become her SUPERHERO!
Ek is mooi en slim
“Is my ma ok?” het die sewejarige Samantha haar huisma bly vra nadat sy aan die begin van die jaar in die sorg van die Maria Kloppers Kampus geplaas is.
Samantha en haar driejarige sussie is blootgestel aan trauma wat geen kind behoort te ervaar nie. Haar mamma is ‘n dwelmverslaafde en hulle het in vervalle huise sonder vensters gebly of op die straat. Samantha moes toekyk hoe geweld, dwelmgebruik en armoede hulle oorweldig. Maar sy is lief vir haar ma.
Aanvanklik wou Samantha haar eie wasgoed was en vloere skoonmaak. Dit het ‘n rukkie geneem voor sy besef het dat haar nuwe tuiste haar ruimte laat om bloot kind te wees. Sy het vir die eerste keer ‘n skool begin bywoon. ‘n Vrywilliger het haar gehelp met ekstra klasse elke week om agterstande in te haal. Sy het ‘n groot stryd gevoer met angs en woede en het ‘n baie lae selfbeeld gehad.
Sy is steeds besorg oor haar ma en het met ‘n bietjie hulp vir haar ‘n brief geskryf. Gelukkig was haar ma kort tevore deur ‘n rehabilitasieprogram en kon sy terugskryf dat dit met haar goed gaan.
Met al die liefde en toegewyde hulp, veral van haar hulponderwyser, terapeut en huismamma, is Sammie, soos sy nou genoem word oppad om in ‘n selfversekerde dogtertjie te ontwikkel. Haar gemiddeld tydens die eerste kwartaal was 49% en teen die 3de kwartaal het sy 78% behaal. “Kyk net, ek kan dit doen. Ek het mooi en slim geword,” was haar woorde aan haar hulponderwyser. Die twee het ‘n spesiale band ontwikkel en vir Samantha is die hulponderwyser haar SUPERHELD!