I began my Montessori journey in 1998 when I started looking for a pre-school for my independent, yet gentle and sensitive, two-year old son. I wanted a school that would accept and nurture him for the individual he was and allow him to learn and do things when he was ready, rather than to try and make him conform to the norms of a group. Thank goodness I found the (then) Headstart Montessori Pre-primary and Elementary school under the principalship of Mrs. Lindsay van den Berg. My son started at Headstart in 1999 and fitted into the Montessori system from day one. He graduated from grade 7 in 2009 a well-rounded, confident person, prepared and ready for traditional high school.

The Montessori method really appealed to me and therefore, I joined the Headstart Montessori teaching team as a volunteer in the lower elementary classroom. Soon thereafter I began my studies. Initially, I studied pre-primary teaching as the elementary course was not yet in existence. Once I had completed my pre-primary diploma I began my elementary studies. I went on to become an assistant directress and worked my way up to team-leader of the lower elementary classroom.

During the time I was associated with Headstart Montessori School I was very fortunate to work side-by-side with some wonderful Montessorians. I learned a great deal during the eight years I was at Headstart, and I made some life-long friends. Unfortunately, Dr Lindsay van den Berg was forced to retired as principal of the school in 2007, due to health reasons. Shortly thereafter the Montessori school was converted into a traditional school (today the International School of Walvis Bay) and for a time Montessori at a primary school level ceased to exist in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

I spent the next few years mostly working with children with various special needs, including dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome, amongst others. In 2012 I moved to Swakopmund and decided to look for employment in my new town, and I was very fortunate to be appointed as the grade 2 teacher at a local private school. However, my Montessori blood continued to run thick. Every year I would observe children in my class who I believed would have thrived in a Montessori environment and I would find myself saying "What a pity – where is a Montessori school when we need it?”

After three years of saying this, I finally decided to do something about it and to establish my own Montessori school. And thus was born the idea of the Swakopmund Montessori Academy, which became a reality in 2016.