6m container classroom
Date Launched
13 October 2023
Location
Lavender Hill,
Western Cape
No of children
63 children
Year started
2020
Busy Bee Educare is a home-from-home for 63 children, from newborns to the age of six, and Principal, Natasha Raybin had been using her own house for the centre. Due to space constraints, Natasha appealed to Breadline Africa for an additional classroom.
The new structure has given the Busy Bee Educare team the necessary space to establish separate educational areas, including creative art, Montessori, mathematics and reading areas. This has allowed the educators to properly organise these resources, instead of having to pack them away after each session. It will also provide a warm, cosy space during the winter, as the previous structure was in a drafty converted carport.
The classroom was kindly funded by Anthony Whetstone, Sheila Blethyn, Anthony Portal and Terry Smale. The container was donated by MACS Maritime Carrier Shipping.
Centre parent, Nicholas Adams said: “Thank you for the opportunity to share my gratitude for the classroom. It has brought many smiles to the faces of our future leaders. I remember coming home one day, seeing the container and asking if a new shop is being established, but my child said with excitement ‘no, that is my new classroom!’ My child has been with the Educare for two years now and I can see how he has grown.”
Busy Bee Educare Centre Principal, Natasha Raybin, shared a bit about her journey, explaining that before she established the centre, she had been working alongside her sister at her educare and this inspired her to start her own. “I want to give our community’s children the same high-quality education that other children in more affluent areas receive,” she said, adding her thanks to the donors and Breadline Africa.
The shipping container originally spent many years at sea, transporting goods around the world, and was retired to the MACS Maritime Carrier Shipping’s container yard. The MACS team selected it for Breadline Africa, and it has a new lease on life, helping children on their educational journey, said Breadline Africa Infrastructure Manager, Graeme Hyde.
