Over 1 000 parents, caregivers and children gathered for a family day event in Ceza, Ulundi, in KwaZulu-Natal, on 18 July to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day. Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi opened the event by emphasising the power of education. Hosted by early learning non-profit SmartStart, with support from implementing partners, Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education (LETCEE) and Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE), the event highlighted the importance of early learning for children aged three to five years old.
In addition to Prince Buthelezi, the event was attended by representatives from the Ulundi municipality, including Mayor Mvuseni Jaconia Luthuli; chairpersons from the Babanango and Mahlabathini Early Childhood Development (ECD) forum; Charity Nxele, a social worker at the Department of Education; as well as traditional leaders representing local villages. The Zululand Department of Basic Education who, in partnership with SmartStart, support the need to speed up the closing of the early learning access gap, also attended the event.
“Nelson Mandela said that education is the great engine of personal development – and this starts at a young age. Making sure that every single child in KwaZulu-Natal has access to a quality early learning programme is critical to ensuring they are successful throughout their lives. It’s the first step in building the nation’s next generation of leaders,” said Grace Matlhape, CEO of SmartStart.
KwaZulu-Natal has the highest percentage of children that are currently not accessing early learning in the country, according to Stats SA. Studies have shown that access to quality early learning plays a significant role in whether a child grows into their full potential. In particular, the first five years of a child’s life are crucial to developing social, cognitive, emotional, and language skills that form the foundations for learning, school performance, and overall life success.
Matlhape encouraged parents and caregivers to enrol their children in an early learning programme; “Regardless of whether it’s a SmartStart programme, or another local early learning programme, the important thing is that your child is receiving sufficient nurturing and play-based mental stimulation from a young age. In addition to teaching them key skills, early learning programmes also provide safe spaces for children to spend their time, while their parents are out at work.”
To highlight the importance of learning through talk, play, nurture, and storytelling for childhood development, the event also included a live demonstration of the SmartStart programme’s daily routine. “We wanted to give parents and caregivers a good idea of how their children will spend their time in an early learning programme. Our programme promotes free play in a language-rich environment and encourages interactive storytelling and the development of self-regulation,” said Matlhape.
The event also aimed to drive recruitment of new early learning practitioners, to expand SmartStart’s footprint in the province and reach more families. By recruiting, licensing, and supporting community members to launch and run early learning social enterprises, the non-profit is working to close the gap in access to early learning for local children – as well as empower women with employment and a steady income. To date, SmartStart has trained just under 10 000 people to provide early learning services, to the benefit of over 100 000 children across the country.
Recognising that early learning is a collective and collaborative process, SmartStart partners with communities, churches, ECD forums, government, and social impact investors to help them grow and reach families across the country; “Our partnerships with both corporate and non-governmental organisations have been instrumental in helping to close the early learning gap in South Africa. We continue to seek out organisations that will partner with us to elevate the early learning narrative to drive transformative behaviour shifts at both policy and delivery levels,” says Matlhape.
Operating as a social franchise, SmartStart’s early learning model is focused on overcoming structural barriers that prevent access to not only early learning, but to quality early learning. The NPO operates in all nine provinces and has built a network of over 90 000 parents and caregivers, whose children are enrolled and active in one of SmartStart’s programme formats. By 2030, SmartStart aims to reach 1-million children between the ages of three and five annually. For more information, visit www.smartstart.org.za.
