Ark Angels Educare in Overcome Heights is a community-based Early Childhood Development [ECD] centre which cares for these children by taking them off the streets and providing them with two warm meals per day and early childhood education. It also empowers women to find employment in the area.
Our ECD was founded by Pastor Prosper of the Ark Chapel International Ministeries in March 2015. In the beginning the corrugated shack - which accommodates the church on weekends - was converted into a daycare during the week allowing 70 children aged between 0 – 6 years to be taken care of while their parents go to work. There are three classes namely Toddlers, Junior and Senior. Parents are asked to pay a nominal monthly schoolfee.
This is how it all began
In 2012 Pastor Prosper founded the Ark Chapels Ministery in a down trodden squatter camp Overcome Heights/Vrygrond.
Under his guidance the little congregation grew and soon a small corrugated iron shack was built, which served as meeting point for church-goers and the community.
Due to the severe shortage of registered day care facilities he was approached 3 years later by parents of his congregation to take care of their children while parents went out to work. Realising how important it was to keep children off the streets and caring for them, he converted the shack into 3 small classrooms to accommodate the little ones during working hours. Three ladies from the community were employed as teachers. Ark Angels Educare was born.
Having furthered his studies he obtain a BEd (Hon) at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2007, qualifying as Bachelor of Education in Geography, Economics, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.
When starting the Educare these qualification were of great benefit to him and although he is not effectively involved in the actual teaching of the children, he runs the Educare. With the assistance of True-North and the ECD Forum of Overcome Heights the Pastor attends courses to further his studies and knowledge as a ECD principal.
After registration as NPO was obtained, a Constitution for Ark Angels was put in place and a Board of Directors, with Pastor Prosper as Chairman was appointed.
Pastor Prosper is a well-liked and kind hearted man, who has a great love and admiration for children and the people living in the community of Overcome Heights. Pastor Prosper was recently appointed as Manager/Principal and our aim is to empower him to eventually run Ark Angels independently with SEEDS guiding him where necessary.
History
Presently the Educare is operating from a small shack with limited space, which is not conducive for effective teaching of its 70 children.
- No storage space available for teaching and learing material and mattresses.
- We are not able to accommodate the huge demand in pre-primary and early childhood education.
- Only one outside toilet for 80 children and 7 staff members.
- No running water except one tap outside the shack.
- A tiny kitchen without any windows or ventilation and no storage space for food.
- No playground for the children.
- Due to extreme poverty in this area many parents are unable to pay school fees.
Children are left on the street, without any supervision or pre-school education.
Our Mission is....
... to make use of the land allocated by the Department of Education to build a proper Daycare for nearly 100 children.
... reach out to the poorest of the community. The Daycare provides hope for the future through early childhood education.
... respond to the high demand for pre-primary education and childcare
... provide children with balanced nutrition
... offer reliable care thus enabling parents to enter the workforce.
... teach children English and personal hygiene.
... create employment with reasonable remuneration for women from the community.
... have more women from Overcome Heights trained as Daycare teachers at the College of Cape Town.
... to create a fund which will partly subsidise the school fees.