Massmart and Builders stores in Margate, in partnership with HOPE Worldwide South Africa (HWSA), a NGO that invests in Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres for vulnerable children, recently celebrated the successful renovation of an ECD centre, Lethokuhle Preschool in Lamont Village, Ugu district in Kwazulu Natal Province.
“The renovation is part of HWSA, and Massmart’s flagship programme named SUCCEED, which stands for Supporting Caregivers and Centres in Early Childhood Development (ECD).” shared Ms. Gloria Nkosi, Deputy Country Director at HOPE worldwide SA.
“The centre was supported with renovations to comply with government norms and standards for registration purposes. This latest renovation will ensure that Lethokuhle Preschool complies with all regulations to be eligible for registration and possibly subsidy or funding from the department of basic education, which will help the centre to be a self-sustained facility,”
Prior to the renovations, the Lethokuhle ECD centre had been vandalised to the extent that it was not a conducive environment for children to learn and be kept safe, resulting in a reduced number of children attending the facility.
According to Principal Lucky Ndovela, the children in the Lamont community will now have access to an upgraded facility to learn, play and develop in a safe and clean learning environment. In addition, more children can be enrolled to receive the best possible start in life through the efforts of this progressive initiative.
“The essence of our business is building, renovation, home improvement and by extension, home development. We also know that education is the bedrock of any thriving society, particularly ECD. In South Africa, our education challenges are multi-faceted, with infrastructure remaining a key issue for many schools across the country,” says Munier Solomon, Marketing Operations Manager at Builders.
“We have, therefore, taken a keen interest in providing new builds, infrastructure upgrades, renovations and in some instances, new equipment, as required by various schools, more often those focusing on education in the formative years. We are always excited when we see the results, knowing that children are in safe learning facilities,” he adds.
Speaking at the launch event held recently, Environmental Health Department representative Phumelele Mayeni said:
“The ECD centre in its current state can comply with health regulations due to the renovations and can now proceed with registrations to receive a health certificate. The Department of Health supports the incredible work being done in the partnership with Massmart, Builders, Hope Worldwide SA, the Department of Basic education, and other key stakeholders.”
Representative of the Inkosi tribal authority Mr Scelo Xolo also shared a message of support for the initiative and the opportunities created through the collaboration, saying:
“This partnership with the local Builders and community is crucial to the livelihood of children and their future. We are grateful for the incredible impact made and thank Massmart for the amazing work and investing in education.”
HWSA has renovated countless ECD centres across seven provinces in South Africa, impacting over 11 800 children to date. Through this collaboration and support provided to HWSA, 60 ECD centres have been renovated, with 20 being KwaZulu Natal-based centres. Additionally, a total of 64 ECD centres received equipment support.
The HWSA’s plans going forward, should the required funding be secured, include renovating more than 100 ECD centres across the country in 2023.
Presenting the address of the day titled: “The importance of Investing in ECD”, the Director of ECD at the Depart of Education, Thoko Vilakazi expressed how critical it is for the country’s departments of Social Development, Health, Treasury, and others to continue playing a significant role in the quest to strengthen early learning foundations.
“Together with stakeholders such as HWSA and Builders, our collective success as a nation depends on strong leadership, technical knowledge, and expertise within the relevant departments and across all the government spheres responsible for delivering a bouquet of ECD services across the country. Although there have been great strides in providing access to ECD provisioning in the country, the quality of programmes remains a challenge,” says Vilakazi.
“It is important to note that provision for children younger than five years require a combination and a variety of programmes that draw on several departments and levels of Government, NGOs, community-based organisations, families, parents, and children,” he adds.
The Department continues to engage with partners and stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and improve the quality of provisioning in the sector using research information. The Department also works closely with ECD stakeholders and communities to support ECD centres and schools with Grade R to create a quality Early Childhood Development learning environment.
“Together, we must strive to lay a solid foundation where learners will be positively stimulated and nurtured to become responsible citizens. To realise this, we need a national alliance of partners across all sectors to promote and advance ECD,” concludes Vilakazi.
About Builders
Builders forms part of Massmart Holdings Limited under the registered business name of Massbuild Pty Ltd. There are four complementary brands namely Builders Warehouse, Builders Express, Builders Trade Depot and Builders Superstore. Collectively these brands offer the largest range of quality products and services for the small to large building and maintenance contractor, home improvement and DIY enthusiast as well as garden or any other DIY related projects. The stores have convenient trading hours and locations and offer the largest range of quality products and services under one roof at competitive prices. Builders Warehouse follows the big box or warehouse retail format and trades out of stores across South Africa. While Builders Express caters to homeowners and DIY enthusiasts. Builders Trade Depot caters mostly for medium to large-sized contractors and tradesmen engaged in building, maintenance, and renovation projects. Builders Superstore is a newer store format which is aimed at homes in townships, rural and developing urban areas as well as small contractors. Builders has 109 stores in Southern Africa and continues to extend its footprint to other parts of the continent including Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and most recently, Kenya. For more information go to: builders.co.za
About Hope Worldwide SA
HOPE worldwide is an international faith-based organisation serving in 60 countries, on every inhabited continent, since 1991. We have been committed to bringing hope and changing lives, through relief and sustainable development, for some of the world’s poorest, sick, and suffering. In South Africa our programmes focus on Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiatives such as, supporting ECD centres with registrations, Parent, and caregiver ECD skills development, and nutritional support for both ECD centres and households, all geared towards giving vulnerable children the best possible start in life. For more information go to: hopewordwidesa.org
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Feature Image: Builders
