Sophie’s Shade Netting Hosts First Event!

The new shade netting at Sophie’s Creche has already hosted its first special event—Career Day!

Instead of gathering beneath the glaring South African sun, the children were able to dress in their Career Day outfits, sing songs, and learn together beneath the large blue canopy.

Builders, doctors, soldiers, fire fighters, policemen and other “Community Helpers” filled the space, as the children learned about the people who serve their community.

The shade netting has quickly become something more than protection from the sun. It’s almost like an outdoor air-conditioned room. It isn’t really air conditioned, of course, but compared with sitting beneath the intense sun, the shaded space is noticeably cooler and far more comfortable.

And, Career Day is only the beginning.

Next week, one of the student’s mother plans to decorate the shade-covered area for a her son's birthday party. In the future, it can become a gathering place for songs and stories, lessons and games, celebrations and special events.

Something as simple as creating shade has given the creche something it didn’t have before: a comfortable outdoor place where childhood can happen.