The Camphill Movement
The Camphill movement was founded by Dr Karl Koenig and a group of close associates in 1939 in Scotland. The first community was a school for disabled children, set within the context of a shared communal life. The school flourished and led to the founding of other Camphill centres, some offering schooling, some training for disabled people and others long term employment and sheltered living.
The Camphill movement now includes more than 100 centres in 18 countries. Each centre is affiliated to the international Camphill movement, but is managed and financed independently.
Click on the link to see more http://camphill.net
Camphill Botswana
Camphill Community Trust was established in Botswana in 1974 to provide services to people with special needs. It includes the following three divisions, all located at the village of Otse in the South East District.
Rankoromane School
Rankoromane School provides primary school education for 56 children with learning difficulties and related disabilities aged between 5 – 14 years.
The curriculum is based on a synthesis of the Botswana Government Primary School Syllabus and the Waldorf education approach of Camphill schools worldwide. It emphasizes experiential learning guided by the individual child.
The education programme is holistic in that it addresses the full range of learning, nurturing and developmental needs of the child including activities of daily living, communication and other social skills, numeracy and literacy, arts, crafts, sports, etc.
Learning goals for each learner are defined in an Individual Education Plan that is developed together with parents / family, residential care staff, teaching staff and therapists as appropriate.
This guides the learning path of each child and is updated annually based on regular formative assessments, the developing capacity of the child to decide on their learning priorities, the input of parents / family and other related factors.
Motse Wa Badiri Training
Motse Wa Badiri Training offers a four-year learning programme for people with learning difficulties or disabilities who are fourteen years or older and who are unable to enrol in mainstream education. The learning programme is called The Integrated Learning for Living and Work Programme (ILLP). Eighty-five students are currently enrolled in the ILLWP which aims to build a broad foundation of knowledge and skills that can foster a person’s development across three assessed areas of the curriculum:
- Functional abilities in communication, literacy, numeracy and Information and communication technology (ICT);
- Personal and social development;
- Vocational skills.
During the last term of the four-year programme most of the learners are given the opportunity of an attachment in a workplace situated in their local community and in accordance with their long-term livelihood goals. An employment support specialist works with learners and their families during the workplace attachment and also during the year after they have graduated from the ILLWP in order to assist where needed with finding open employment or other forms of sustainable livelihood.
Camphill Community Trust is also part of CARA (Camphill Africa Regional Association) which supports collaboration between the Camphill communities in the region and represents these in the international Camphill movement.
Members of the Campill Africa Regional Association include:
Camphill Farm Community Hermanus (South Africa)
Camphill School Hermanus (South Africa)
Camphill Village West Coast (South Africa)
Camphill Community Trust (Botswana)