Aberdeen Bambinos celebrate Christmas
ABERDEEN — Aberdeen Bambinos, a child care and education group in Lotusville, Aberdeen, recently celebrated its second birthday, and organisers Jane Saayman and Leonie Bedaar decided to combine this milestone with the children’s Christmas party.
The Aberdeen branch of the WAA has been very involved with the Bambinos, and this year five members of the WAA joined the Bambinos for the Christmas party, which was held under the trees in Jean Watermeyer’s shady garden. The children, accompanied by their leaders, walked together in a neat crocodile from Lotusville, and were impeccably behaved.
Lea van der Vyver welcomed the children and explained the programme for the afternoon. The children opened the proceedings by singing the Lord’s Prayer, which was very touching.
A Christmas book, donated by Bargain Books, was handed to each child and Annalie Lategan told the story (in Afrikaans) while the children listened and followed the story in their own books. Although the lift-theflap book is really designed for younger children, it is in English, which is not the children’s first language, and for many of the children, it is the very first book that they have ever owned.
There was great excitement as each child very carefully looked behind each flap to see the hidden picture as the story progressed.
Lategan also read the Christmas story from a Children's Bible. Afterwards, WAA members shared out the beautifully decorated cupcakes they had brought for the appreciative children, and they all enjoyed a slice of the birthday cake baked by Saayman with their cooldrinks.
The Bambinos ladies are very grateful to the WAA for their continued support, both in arranging events and for regular donations of groceries, meat and vegetables for the children. Jean Watermeyer has really been a driving force behind this involvement, and she herself rarely returns from a Graaff-reinet trip without a boot full of donated yogurts and other almostexpired goods that have generously been donated by Pick n Pay. According to their constitution, the Bambinos group is not just about feeding the children healthy food but also aims to promote the importance of education and instil discipline and respect for themselves and others. Several members of the WAA have commented on the excellent behaviour and discipline of the children in the group, and congratulated the leaders on their valuable work.