We connect different ages, backgrounds and cultures and facilitate CONNECTION AND BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH PLAY.
We facilitate children to connect with their families in the Play@Home programme, with their communities through our Circles Programme and with their broader South African family through our Fun Day programme.
Through our Play Ambassador and Volunteer programmes we enable youth and adults to build themselves and
to share their time and life learnings to impact children lives.
Connecting youth as positive role models with their communities
Our Play Ambassadors implement the Play@Home programme, and help to run Enriched Play Experiences including Fun Days, Storytime Circles and Community PlayDates. They are supported by our team with training, mentorship and a peer support structure.
Hear what Puleng has to say about her experience
Our youth empowerment programme supports young people to become positive role models who use play to uplift their communities. Youth from the communities we work in apply to participate in a journey of personal development and to become a Sisanda Play Ambassador.
They learn how to deliver our Play programmes to positively influence the children and families in their community while developing the skills of an inspiring and confident peer supporter and leader.
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Connecting through enriched experiences.
Since 2009 and we have been creating monthly EXPLOSIONS of fun!!! Children and volunteers from different backgrounds and cultures are united through Play, Fun, and New experiences, enabling the breakdown of prejudices and barriers and a chance to explore the world.
A full day experience is arranged in areas of natural beauty or at locations that are unfamiliar for many children. We include visits to cultural events and unique places of interest. Children’s home, community centres and NGO’s work with us to identify children who would benefit from a day out.
Periodically bringing the fun to children in convalescent homes and hospitals has also bought a smile to many children’s faces.
Volunteers are partnered with 2 - 4 children for the day to co-create a fun, safe and shared learning experience. Volunteers are 16 and over and sign declarations for child protection. Detailed information on their role is provided before the day and they need to arrange their own transport to and from the location which changes every Fun Day but is within Cape Town.
Fun Days Overview
Children's Comments
"It was my fIirst time in the garden"
"I learnt I could do art. I didn’t think I could"
"We had fun meeting new people"
"We learnt kindness and respect of others"
Volunteers Comments
"I believe this gave the children a chance to forget about their problems for a few hours.
It allowed them to explore and not to be surrounded by stress,
and it changed how I view the things I have. I have so much to be grateful for."
Connecting families through play
This 8 week programme facilitates bonding of families and enhances interaction and connection across generations through the use of Play. Play is not comfortable for everyone. But learning to laugh and enjoy spending time together can deepen relationships, love and understanding of each other. The Play@home programme helps families to shake off inhibitions and to get silly together and helps expose the joy of getting to know each other.
Sisanda Play Ambassadors guide families in their community on interactive play and provide tips to create a healthy habit of quality family time. They visit weekly to provide Sisanda Play Sheets and give suggestions on how to engage the whole family and to empower adults to strengthen family relationships.
parents Comments
“What you guys are doing is very helpful and it does make the difference in one’s family. We are now able to talk about our emotions and important things we never spoke about before."
"The activities helped me understand the things they like and the things they don’t like.”
"Ever since he joined the programme it helped him to keep focus on school work."
"My kids were very violent towards other kids and ever since this programme they became respectful and nice and always playing and fun"
Children's Comments
"Playing together has made us more open about talking to help each other."
"Having fun time with the family is the best thing ever. It has bought us together, there is less fighting now."
A quick word from our Play Ambassador
Community Playdates in which children, their parents, carers and other community members share time, energy and laughter in a safe, stimulating space.
Together with passionate volunteers and Play Ambassadors we bring Play directly into the community. Safe, age appropriate, stimulating experiences engage children and their families or carers in magical moments.
The goal is to have a really fun time. At the same time we role model how to connect through play across the generations, and we expose an abundance of ideas that can spark interests or be transferred easily into daily life.
Since 2013, we have worked closely with volunteers and community oganisations to Storytelling and Reading, Crafts, Pilates and Yoga, Dancing, Boot Camps, Drama Classes, Anti-bullying Sessions, Soft Skills training, Art Classes, Singing, Drumming to name a few.
Connecting learners for a day of fun and peer learning
A mini FunDay, planned by senior school volunteers, enables teens to connect with, entertain and inspire primary school children. This provides a fun learning environment, within the senior school grounds, for both teens and children to share skills and interests and to learn from and about each other. The younger learners get to engage with positive role models while the older learners gain leadership skills and the experience of active citizenship.
A Pupil from Wynberg Girls High
"I was always aware of the hardships that many South Africans face but this programme provided a different perspective to that by allowing us to engage with young children who live difficult lives. It really opens your eyes when you can sit face to face with someone and hear their story.
It has made me become more socially aware and has shown me how important it is to use my privilege to help others and how important it is to allow children the simple pleasure of playing and fun."
The Head Teacher of Capricorn Primary School
"These outings excite the children and teach them to aspire towards something. I believe the priority for children is to learn social engagement, self esteem and how to communicate. Grade 3 to 10 is very impressionable. Outings enable incidental learnings. They get to interact with someone new and they learn how they can hold themselves in a different context. This grows their confidence."
We have worked with high schools including Wynberg Girls, Bishops, Hershel and primary schools including Capricorn primary. This programme has been operating since 2014 with a recent break since the start f the COVID pandemic
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