Sahra

Shared by her father, Winslow

The issue of inclusion is one our family has personally experienced. An extremely sensitive topic, it’s not limited to the South African context but occurs internationally. As an expat family we’ve travelled with our kids to different parts of the world where we’ve noted that children who don’t fit the usual mould of society’s standards often are not well accepted.

We have a very special little girl named Sahra. She was born with academic, cognitive and processing challenges. Sahra is fun, loving and outgoing, however as she’s got older she’s become acutely aware of her limitations to articulate what she’s thinking, and this can frustrate her.

Sahra's Early Schooling

Sahra was born in the Middle East and when she turned 4 we could not find a school that would meet her needs. As a result, my wife home-schooled Sahra, teaching her the basics of reading and writing. Terri isn’t a teacher and didn’t have the knowledge or training for teaching a special needs child. It was a tremendously isolating and difficult period for our daughter and us. Though people generally were polite to Sahra, they were also indifferent, unable to comprehend her situation. Sahra’s a deeply sensitive child and easily discerned the difference between people’s genuine love and affection and mere tolerance of her. Often she withdrew to the comfort and security of her mother or me.

Similarly, a few years later when we moved to China we found a lonely and unsupportive structure for a family with a special needs child. Another isolated journey began as we tried to find a school for Sahra. The international Canadian school where her younger brother enrolled was far too competitive and results driven for her. They placed a strong emphasis on conventional achievements and progress. Our precious daughter clearly would not fit the school’s success criteria. It was a disheartening experience to have our little girl watch her younger brother go to school every morning, not able to fully comprehend why she couldn’t join him.

Sahra's Introduction to Mindstretch

Then we were evacuated from China and returned to South Africa during the pandemic crisis. That’s when we found inclusion at Mindstretch. What a different environment of acceptance. Here we found a place of refuge for our daughter. It was clear that Principal Jennifer and Teacher Kelli-Jane understood Sahra’s cognitive challenges. We were impressed not only by their caring and supportive nature but by how knowledgeable they were about Sahra’s abilities and the work they could do to bring out the best in her.

“For the first time we saw Sahra fit into a safe environment where her learning and confidence grew.”

Watching Sahra Grow

It was amazing to see Sahra’s boldness grow. She took on some challenging situations. Our withdrawn and timid daughter found her voice. Courageously, she accepted her limitations, and yet she was audacious in her abilities as she travelled a path of inclusion and confidence at Mindstretch School.

Sahra loves nature and the outdoors. Though diagnosed with low muscle tone, she found strength at Mindstretch. She became more surefooted and her upper body strength and coordination improved. Now she can complete all the rungs on her favourite apparatus, the monkey bars. This was due mainly to the constant motivation of Sahra’s dedicated teacher Kelli-Jane and teacher aide Bongi. And so I provide this tribute for Sahra with thanks.

“We thank Jennifer and her team for their unconditional love and acceptance of Sahra. We thank them for the time and effort they invested to bring our her true potential.”