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Taking TAKALANI SESAME to the children
Takalani Sesame, a pilot project to provide greater access to resources for parents, caregivers and educators in providing children with early learning
experiences takes off.
(Note: please contact the SABC directly for further information on Takalani
Sesame)
 In
mid August in Durban, 24 Early Childhood Development Educators, together with Department of Education officials, gathered to be informed in the training and supporting of parents, caregivers and educators of young children, in the effective use of Takalani Sesame as an educational resource.
This pilot outreach-training project is another key intervention in support of the Department of Education's ECD (Early Childhood Development) policy - to provide greater access to resources for parents, caregivers and educators in providing children with early learning experiences. Latest statistics show that only 1 million of an estimated 8 million children in the 0-6 year age group are enrolled in some type of ECD provision, and hence the need for projects such as Takalani Sesame.
The Takalani Sesame initiative was launched in 2000 to achieve mass reach of young children - to encourage learning in the areas of literacy, numeracy and life-skills. TV and radio programmes have been flighted for just over a year and the initial research on the viewership and educational impact of the programming has been both positive and encouraging. Awareness of Takalani Sesame is growing and learning outcomes are being achieved.
Effective use of Takalani Sesame by parents, caregivers and ECD Educators is a key issue for the project, and August sees the beginning of the pilot training programme in support of the project. From the early September these dedicated ECD trainers will start the process of taking Takalani Sesame into homes, community centres -anywhere groups of young children spend their days in the four most disadvantaged and poor provinces of our country - KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Province and Northern Cape.
Says Marie-Louise Samuels (National Director: ECD) of the Department of Education "For the pilot project, our ECD District Officers have spent a great deal of time selecting those township areas where the need is greatest, and where a considerable impact can be made. Trainers will be training parents, care-givers and educators of pre-school children, but also passing on their training skills and knowledge, and through this process we hope to encourage those who have been trained to take Takalani Sesame to neighbouring townships and regions."
Trainers will be equipped with a number of resource materials, which will be distributed in these areas including a series of Takalani Sesame multi-lingual storybooks, posters and audiotapes. Gloria Britain, who has been managing the outreach project from SABC Education, comments "We have produced some excellent educational materials to support the television and radio broadcasts, and while we wish we could do more for more areas of the country, this is an excellent first step. Also the impact of this pilot project will be measured through a comprehensive research study, and results of this will help us enhance the outreach training for 2002".
The name "Takalani" means "be happy" in TshiVenda and conveys the spirit of happiness and innocence throughout the project.
Takalani Sesame was launched in July 2000, and is designed to support the ECD (Early Childhood Development) policy of the Department of Education. The project consists of multi-lingual television and radio programmes supported by print resources and training initiatives. Television programmes are broadcast on SABC 2, Monday to Friday at 10:00 and again at 15:00 and on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10:00.
Takalani Sesame is an international co-production with Sesame Workshop, Kwazukazukela and Vuleka Productions, and was made possible in South Africa through funding provided in part by Sanlam, SABC Education, The Department of Education, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and South African Airways (SAA).
To find out more about Takalani Sesame, call Gloria Britain on (011) 714 5282.
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