Somerset West Night Shelter enhances classrooms with beautiful murals

The Somerset West Night Shelter is one step closer to creating a child-friendly learning space for the little ones in its care.

A second mural, currently underway in the baby classroom, is set to be completed next week -marking the latest milestone in the shelter’s daycare upgrade.

The daycare, which caters to both toddlers and babies in two separate classrooms, first introduced a mural in the toddler room on Mandela Day, July 18. Work on the baby classroom mural began last month and is expected to be finished by Thursday, October 9, according to Katherine Wege, the children’s coordinator at the shelter.

Ms Wege said earlier this year, the shelter decided to channel its fund-raising efforts towards improving the daycare. In May, Loreto Primary School teachers reached out, eager to contribute.

“They prepared and dedicated a full day to painting the mural in our toddler classroom,” she said.

“They also ran sports and music activities with the children, treated the entire shelter to burgers for supper, and even held a civvies day at their school to raise funds. Some Grade 7 learners joined on the day to help, making it a real whole-school effort.”

The shelter hopes the murals will create a brighter, more welcoming environment for the children as they continue to expand the project.

Carina Turck-Clark, the art teacher at Loreto Primary School, said:  “We know that a beautiful environment is part of enjoying the learning experience. The natural theme is stimulating, and yet peaceful."

Four pupils from Parel Vallei High School also helped to make the second painting project a success.

“Volunteering showed me the power of teamwork and reminded me how rewarding it is to give back to the community,” said Grade 11 pupil Nicca Burger.

Matthew Raad, also a Grade 11 pupil, said: “My reason for coming and helping was because I saw it as a reunion with some of the kids there, because I had learnt to know these kids from previous events and excursions. To help them in a small way by painting a wall made me happier, and just so that we could show them how much we care.”

The Somerset West Night Shelter has been serving the community since 1988. It has also been running the family shelter and a single adult shelter since 2020.

The family shelter houses 28 destitute families for a period of around six to 12 months, during which time they benefit from a range of services including skills training, rehabilitation, counselling, and social services. 

The single adults shelter houses 59 adults, and is a more “typical homeless shelter” where clients can just stay for a night, but are encouraged to stay for a longer period.

In addition to accommodation, the Somerset West Night Shelter also accepts vouchers that the public can purchase to hand out, which are exchanged by those experiencing homelessness for meals, food parcels, hygiene products, and clothing.