My name is Lisakhanya Cele. I’m 6 years old. My favorite thing about Thanda is playing and reading books. I can fetch water, I can write, I can build, I can color in, I can also paint… When I grow up I want to help people… I hope to give back to the community by being the local doctor here.

Meet Lisakhanya Cele, a member of the Thanda After-school Programme’s Class of 2030! Just 6 years old, Lisakhanya has been with Thanda since joining the Early Childhood Development Programme (ECD). Recently, we met up with Lisakhanya to get to know her better, and we’d love to share her story with you!

“My name is Lisakhanya, I am 6 years old,” says Lisakhana, all big smiles, “Every day when I wake up, I’m excited to start my day with a bath and to get ready for school.” As she speaks, Lisakhanya wiggles around in her chair, brimming with the energy of youth. “My favourite thing about Thanda is playing and reading books,” she says, glancing behind her to her where friends are running around and laughing. “I like reading books like Oh No, George, Odd Dog Out, and Spiderman. If I had to choose one book out of these, it would be Spiderman because I like that he saves people!” Lisakhanya looks to her friends again, obviously ready to join in the fun, so we thank her for the chat and she runs off.

Lisakhanya didn’t always love playing and being around other children though. Her current carefree attitude was something she has learned overtime, through the partnership between Thanda’s After-school Programme and her guardian. “When I first started facilitating Lisakhanya,” says After-school Facilitator, Noma, “She used to struggle with sharing, but through the ongoing lessons she’s learning at Thanda, she has been changing.” Noma tells us about a time when, following our Creative Learning Programme, the children in the class were making art related to a book they had read. In the early days of After-school, Lisakhanya would have grabbed the crayons for herself. Now, she makes sure there are enough colours to go around! “She waits her turn and helps the other children when they need something,” says Noma, “I think she’s becoming a good example to her peers because when Lisakhanya sees another child doing something wrong, she’s able to intervene or tell me about what’s going on. I think the books we read for them really make a difference in that because you can see she relates to the story.”

Noma, Lisakhanya’s After-school Facilitator

Thanks to Thanda’s library, Lisakhanya’s learning can continue at home. “I check out books from the Thanda Library so that I can read them at home. Mom or my brother, Mpendulo, sometimes help me read the books.” Thembisile, Lisakhanya’s guardian, also takes an active role in encouraging Lisakhanya’s development. “I’ve seen Lisakhanya’s guardian come to the Guardian Trainings before,” says Noma, “And I believe she implements what she learns there with her children because I’ve had her tell me how much she appreciates the value Thanda is adding to her children’s lives.”

Thembisile Shabane, Lisakhanya’s Guardian

“Lisakhanya is a very outgoing, bright child and she’s very proud of her school work,” says guardian, Thembisile. “She always comes back home and tells us about what she got up to at school. She loves the work she does at Thanda. Even in the Early Childhood Development

Programme you could tell she was smart; she could name all the months of the year in English and isiZulu! That showed me the importance of early learning, because I could see her mind taking in what she had been learning from a young age.”

Since ECD, Lisakhanya tells us that she has grown a lot, “Now, I can fetch water, I can write, I can build, I can color in, and I can also paint.” Her Facilitator, Noma, her guardian, Thembisile, and all of us here at Thanda hope that with her solid foundation, Lisakhanya can grow even more! “When I grow up,” says Lisakhanya, “I want to help people, I hope to give back to the community by being the local doctor here.” Our greatest wish is to see Lisakhanya and the rest of her classmates achieve their goals, and you can help make that dream a reality!

To meet some of Lisakhanya’s other classmates and learn more about how you can support the Class of 2030 to learn, grow, and lead visit our Class of 2030 post here.