The Mphatlatsane School

Rotary in Viljoenskroon is strong. While the club is relatively small, about 25 members, the impact on the community is great. The local municipality lacks funds, and sometimes the competence to fulfill all apparent needs.
.
For example, on our last morning in Viljoenskroon, there was a protest mach, complete with strong police presence, of about 300 people from the township. It was a jubilant group, chanting and dancing as they proceeded to the municipal building. They were protesting the lack of promised taps and the poor quality of the drinking water.
. The Rotary club addresses such issues when they can. Kobus Vermeulen is president of the club and also a member of the local high school governing board. He showed us a filtered drinking fountain that Rotary installed in the courtyard of the school. Some of the incredibly successful and ambitious projects include:
• Building and furnishing a first aid building at the site of the school’s four rugby and hockey fields
• Founding the Mphatlalatsane (mu-fla-ta-zan-ee) “Morning Star” school for severe mentally retarded children in Rammulotsi. There are currently 178 learners attending school with 48 staff – paid and volunteer.
• Founding the Viljoenskroon Hospice
• Founding the old age home
• Furnishing draperies, carpeting and water tanks for the orphans home.
.
The local Rotarians point out however, that Rotray is a service organization and not philanthropic. The school, hospice, etc. are established through the help of the club but then expected to become self-sufficient, relying on the assistance of government and private sources of revenue.

The Mphatlalatsane school is a showplace of “discipline with love,” organization and dedication. The mentally retarded children who would otherwise be ignored by the normal schools are taken in here. There is a waiting list of some 300.
.
The children come from Rammulotsi and other townships. There is a hostel on campus for those from out of town. The learners are taught basic skills - how to use a water based toilet and shower; how to dress themselves, how to eat with utensils; bedwetting is addressed; they are taught to sew and clean. Instruction is in both Afrikaans and Sesotho. Memory games, singing and dancing as well as sports are very popular. Basic reading and writing is taught. Loving care by the staff results in higher self-esteem.
.
The joy of the students is evident. As in the normal and private schools throughout South Africa, the students wear uniforms. This does much to eliminate the most obvious signs of poverty.
.
Upon finishing school, a few of the young men employed at the school or on local farms. There is a hostel in Viljoenskroon to house a few of these.
.
The staff here has expanded their reach into the community to the parents. The tribal cultures dictate that children who are not developing properly are to be ignored. Care is directed to those who will survive. The school staff counsels the parents and help them to accept their own children in spite of their disability.