Standard Bank in partnership with Mother Pearl Early Childhood Development (ECD), Bergrivier and West Coast District Municipalities respectively recently handed over an Early Childhood Education Centre (ECDC).
A complete ECDC consists of one or more steel Edutainers, a Service Centre (inclusive of a sickbay, kitchen, office), a Soap & Wash Station (SWS), outdoor play equipment, flushing toilet facilities (either main sewer line or septic tank), and fencing.
An Edutainer, developed by the Bright Kids Foundation, is an ‘instant classroom’ made from a 12-meter shipping container, ideal for pre-school classrooms, taking up to 25 children. It offers a pragmatic and innovative way to address challenges of developed classroom infrastructure in predominantly remote locations. Edutainers are usually fitted with windows and doors, insulated, electrified, furnished, and then delivered to a community and installed on prepared concrete footings.
“We identified investment in ECD as one of the most impactful of all social investments, statistics prove that children who go through this programme are more likely to pass matric, attain employment, contribute constructively in their communities and we believe that ECDCs offer one of the best outlets to address ECD challenges,” says Theunis Duvenhage, Head of Client Coverage for the Western Cape at Standard Bank.
Standard Bank has thus far invested in providing 13 ECDC’s since inception across the country and has ambition to continue the partnership in other parts of the country. The Department of Basic Education also subsidises the ECDC’s with over R10 million invested since 2022.
Standard Bank has thus far invested in providing 13 ECDC’s since 2022 nationally.
“We are very proud to be part of this consequential partnership, it proves that collaboration between local municipalities, government, civil society and a conscientious corporate can make a substantial difference to communities in need,” says Ray van Rooy, Executive Mayor for the Bergrivier Municipality.
Since 2023, Standard Bank has invested R26.2 million into early childhood development.
“We will ensure that this ECDC is used optimally to benefit the entire community in an impactful way,” concludes Boffie Strydom, Executive Mayor for the West Coast District Municipality.
