Parents Win at PAY

On Saturday 16 July, the Physically Active Youth (PAY) programme organised a family fun day in collaboration with the Self-Regulating Alcohol Industry Forum (SAIF).The aim of the day was to engage the third partner in the education process, the parent and or the community. The PAY programme is an after school programme that offers holistic development to learners aged six to 20, from grades 1 to 12 at the multipurpose youth centre. In its 13 years of existence, this was the first family fun day that has been so well attended and supported by the community at large. More than 42 parents attended as well as people who volunteered to step in for parents so that all the learners would have a guardian or parent for the day. The parents attended a morning workshop which was co-facilitated by SAIF and Tulipohamba. The sessions provided were on positive parenting as well as responsible drinking. Ursula Matzopoulos, who is responsible for Primary Education at PAY said there is still much to be desired in terms educating young people with strong parental participation. “Education has three stakeholders; the parent, the teacher and the child. Right now, the parent is absent. I’ve been a trainer for just over a year here and in that time I met three parents, but on Saturday there were more than 40 parents at the fun day” she shared with The Zone. “This is a quantum leap if you consider the past. It’s absolutely wonderful,” he remarked. “When we the parents we got to understand that all parents really want to be involved. Most of them just don’t know how to be involved, and they just need guidance. Sometimes we don’t have the resources, but we can bring each other into the light and show the parents how it is that we can work together,” Matzopoulos said. The parents participated in a lively manner and they carried this spirit into the afternoon’s activities. Teams were set up of parents and learners and they moved from station to station. At every station there was a competition and a lesson to be learned. The parents ate the food the learners eat on a daily basis and the activities were all part of the daily programming. These activities included cycling, sack jumping, eating competition, push-ups and karate. Patrick Sam, one of the PAY board members, said that the only way to improve education is to be actively involved to ensure that stakeholders care and support each other, particularly when there is a shortage of resources. “We need to organise better, so that we can care better for each other,” Sam explained. Both the children and parents enjoyed the bonding session and the parents gave 100% of their energy to participate. The day was organised by the committed PAY staff members who offer their love kindness and skills to the children on a daily basis. The staff serves as teachers, drivers, parents, coaches and mentors to close the gap with the deficiencies that occur as a result of the economic background the learners come from. The PAY programme serves as an anchor in the learner’s lives, offering them a sense of security, structure and consistency. This is central to the culture of care of the PAY programme. The culture of care is one that not just improves the children’s lives at the centre but in collaboration with the parents will improve the total environment the learners are exposed to. So often, blame is passed around in the education conversation between parents and teachers at the expense of the learner. The role the PAY programme and SAIF has taken, aims to address this issue and bring the parents to the table as strong partners who understand digital age learner and who are equipped with the skills to facilitate their development in a way that allows the learner to feel nurtured, supported and understood. Often learners feel abandoned and uncared for yet the gap lies in some basic skills of communication and understanding the context in which the parents and learners come from. Keith Vries

Parents Win at PAY

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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Parents Win at PAY

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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