Getting SA’s children started early for a brighter future has never been more important

The first day care centre I attended was called Care Bears. Almost 27 years later I still remember tiny details of the crèche, lessons learnt and experiences I had there, even the teachers’ names. As a South African, I was privileged enough to have had this experience.

A child’s brain develops amazingly quickly in their early years, as it doubles in size during this period. Children need constant stimulation for their brain’s development, whether it is through exercises or activities. Equally important to a young child is a balanced diet. Unfortunately though, nearly 70% of township mothers are single and unable to spend enough time with their children at this crucial age.

This issue is being addressed by such organisations such as the African Self Help Association (ASHA) Trust. Director of the trust Deirdre Caulwell believes that the first step to address this problem in ECD is to improve existing day care centres in the townships.

“Promoting community-led initiatives to provide safe and stimulating environments for these children within their own communities, is not only good for the children, but also helps to form a solid way to educate adults in the area in this field.”

Through such incubation programmes, Deirdre hopes to educate and help develop sustainable small business in the townships. She believes these new businesses will not only encourage economic growth but form a great platform for educating individuals in basic skills, such as dietary requirements and hygiene. Recently the ASHA Trust did some research, interviewing 100 women, which confirmed the beliefs that redeveloping day care establishments in the townships will vastly improve their quality of living and will better their children’s education levels.

ASHA, in their pursuit of getting more initiatives off the ground, have partnered with the Spur Foundation who also recognises the importance of ECD. With the expertise of the ASHA Trust, the Spur foundation wants to help develop day care centres to fully functioning ECD centres.

“At this point in time many day care options in the townships are just holding pens,” says Ronel van Dijk, Chairperson of the Spur Foundation.

Ronel has seen first-hand how these establishments are not meeting the requirements of developing young minds due to lack of resources, and believes in a brighter future for all South Africans with better ECD facilities.

“I believe our country’s problems can be solved through ECD. Building a generation that comes through with the right foundation, with young people who can finish high school, that are employable and socially adept. If we get it right there will be a decrease in the number of social issues,” she says.

Combining their efforts, both organisations are hoping to help township ECD centres to meet Government requirements with regards to hygiene, food, education and safety standards so they can receive grants to improve their establishments. Normally without outside help, most crèches are not able to meet the standards of the Childcare Act.

Solving this problem is not a quick fix and can be considered a generational problem. Results from improvements implemented today will only be seen years from now. In a small first step to start tackling this problem the Spur family of brands – Spur Steak Ranches, John Dory’s and Panarottis – has teamed up with non-profit social enterprise Relate Bracelets to sell bracelets in these restaurants, with funds raised to support the Spur Foundation.

All funds generated from the sale of these bracelets (sold for R30 each) will be used for the Spur Foundation’s beneficiaries, with a focus on ECD. The Spur Foundation supports a number of beneficiaries, just one of which is the ASHA Trust.

The goal is to sell 67, 000 bracelets around, but not limited to, Mandela Day this year. One of the core principles of the Spur Foundation is the concept of living Madiba’s legacy – and living every day as if it were Mandela Day.