Getting down with Downs

March 18, 2018

Our lovely employees

One of our driving forces behind setting up The Honeycomb Hub has been to be a community centre where everyone is welcome and no-one feels alone. Though we have only been open a short while, one of the things we are most proud of is being able to offer employment to three young adults with Down Syndrome, Gao, Kutlo and Gorata, having been inspired by the Brownies & downieS coffee shop in Cape Town ( - read their story here http://browniesdownies.co.za/about-us/) We are also talking to other groups and people about how else we can support a community that sometimes get overlooked in the job market.

We are hoping to expand our program by working with local businesses to offer our employees different work experience opportunities to enable them to broaden their skillset and, hopefully, find their perfect job. We love having them but our hope is that we are not a forever job for Gao, Kutlo and Gorata but that we can enable them to find their perfect place in a work environment so they can earn their own money, feel an amount of independence and have a new role within society. So far we have two local businesses interested in working in partnership: Dencon and Vet Pro (who also sponsor Vet Pro Juniors in Tiny Town) and we are looking forward to collaborating with them on this project. If you are a local business owner and would also like to look at offering a work programmes for young adults with Downs, please do get in touch with us.

Working with Gao, Gorata and Kutlo has been a learning curve and they have taught me an awful lot already.

From the October DSAB
party where we first tested
out our soft play!

We usually have smiles and cheerful voices and our work day is punctuated with high fives, fist bumps and the call ‘I’m done’. Our work place is usually a very happy place but my goodness, occasionally they can get in a grump that does even rival that of my sister!

Though I am fairly slow to anger, when I get cross it takes me a while to cool down and letting go of grudges was something it took a lot of my teens to figure out. But I have nothing on our employees. When angered, they need to work through the feelings until they come out the other side. They will not apologise if they do not mean it but equally, when they do apologise it is sincere and the words have weight and meaning.

Routine is greatly beneficial to everyone, we know where we are and

Gao learning to finger knit
at our knit and natter last week

Gao, Gorata and Kutlo know the order of the day. So it had been interesting for me, who has a million and one thoughts each moment and, like Alice, “sometimes I believe in as many as 6 impossible things before breakfast.” However this doesn’t work for Kutlo, Gorata and Gao. They do not need some flighty boss with ideas galore, they need a plan, a routine and then they are flying. So I am adapting and we try to have that routine in place. They help us clean in the morning starting with sweeping outside and finishing with mopping the studio. Then they fit in with the day whether it is cleaning the toys and soft play, preparing some of the resources for our classes (making oobleck was great and Gao and Kutlo were fascinated by it) tidying Tiny Town, getting cups of tea and coffee or helping in the classes.

We started working with the DSAB (Down Syndrome Association of Botswana) through our great friend Nicky Major who is the Vice Chair, and we have learned a lot about Down Syndrome. We have read up about it and Nicky has been our go to guru as well as talking to Gao, Gorata and Kutlo’s Mums. However, the more I have got to know our three employees, the more I have realised that when you meet 1 person with Down’s… you have just met 1 person with Down’s. Just as my sisters and I share similarities and traits, you would never mistake us for the same person. Our employees also are very different.

Kutlo helping in one of our
playgroups

If I want an awesome high 5, Gao is the guy and he does the most enthusiastic fist bump I have ever seen. He is also the best at cleaning the soft play and toys and does a better job than we do!

Kutlo is our most serious member yet likes to get to know everyone who comes through the door and is working hard to teach me Setswana! She is also wonderful with children and if there is a toddler to entertain I have no chance of asking her to make the tea!

A quote from Virginia Satir - Gorata
makes sure we are all on track.

Gorata is the one who keeps an eye on our own mental health. You see Gorata has a secret power – she gives the most awesome hugs in the world. Not only that, but she is generous with her power too.

If you are having an off day, pop in to the Hub and Gorata will soon cheer you up! She is also great with children and manages to get the glasses to sparkle when she washes them in a way that I have yet to achieve!

However, the one thing that definitely unites them all (aside from an extra chromosome) is their love of music! During quieter moments, we quite often change our easy listening choices to something with more of a dance feel and have a little rock out and sing together!

Our obstacle course at
the DSAB party yesterday.

We are very proud of our work with the DSAB and have recently greatly enjoyed being invited to join their party for an early celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Day on Wednesday 21^st March. The DSAB is our charity of the month. Any spare change you have would be most welcome and this Wednesday, all the money from our messy play sessions (10am-12pm and 2-4pm) will go towards it. You can also join in raising awareness by wearing odd socks.

Please do get in touch with us if you are interested in supporting our work, are able to offer work experience or job opportunities or if you have a member of your family we may be able to support with getting work experience or job opportunities.