Thirty farm children (from Grade R to 11) attend the Media Centre on Timberlea Farm each afternoon. The focus is on the development of literacy and numeracy skills, but in addition, there is a very active component – chess!
Mr Uhlan Lackay, a teacher at Rietenbosch Primary School, visits the centre every Friday afternoon, giving the children a personalised chess lesson. As a result, the parents raised money to purchase seven additional chess boards for the centre.
The initiative was driven by Hester Davids, one of the parents as well as Charity Bonyongwa, facilitator at the centre.
Recently, Dr Andrew Murray, a retired cardiologist, played simultaneously against 10 children – five of them farm children and five from Rietenbosch Primary school. Only one learner, Christa Davids, managed to beat him. The games took a full two hours.
It must be noted that without the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm of Uhlan Lackay, this initiative would never have materialised.
