Once, sixteen years ago, the seed of Gaia was sown. It was planted into the soil by angels who had a vision. A tiny little seedling emerged in the form of one class with ten children at the Centre for Creative Education. This little seedling, fragile as it was, needed nurturing, holding and lots of love for its roots to strengthen and find its place on earth.
A year later the seedling, still very much in a delicate stage, was uprooted and moved to new grounds in Observatory in a church building. It was here that a new shoot appeared, a kindergarten was born!
Another year passed and once again the now, slightly stronger plant with a new shoot, found itself pollinating across the waters of the Black River in the Oude Molen Eco Village in Pinelands. There were so many plants, reeds and lots of weeds everywhere, the Gaia plant was thriving and it seemed that she had found the soil needed to nourish and strengthen her roots. After three terms of work and growth Gaia had three classes, a kindergarten and a tiny playgroup.
And now seventeen years later, having faced many challenges, crossed numerous hurdles and weathered many storms, the Gaia tree stands firm proudly showing off a school with 190 pupils, 16 teachers and a total staff of 30, seven primary school classes, two kindergarten classes, a playgroup class and an aftercare facility.
This year, what had started out as a tiny little seed, nurtured and cared for by selfless, loving hands, has now blossomed into a deeply rooted, beautiful flowering tree. We have expanded into a surrounding building, where we will have our new senior primary campus for classes 5,6 and 7.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those ‘loving hands’ who continue to tirelessly nurture Gaia.
Hazhor Noordien