With funding support from Standard Bank, Sebofon — a non-profit company (NPC) that works in Pongoland — and Ntataise Lowveld — a provider of ECD programmes in the form of playgroups in Mpumalanga — have made it possible for children coming from financially disadvantaged families to have access to early learning.
Kirston Greenop, Standard Bank's head of regulatory advocacy, stakeholder engagement and corporate social investment (CSI), says, "Standard Bank has always understood that quality ECD provides persistent, life-long benefits to children and society long after they have left preschool."
Greenop adds, "Backed by research that shows early learning interventions boost socio-emotional skills, we have dedicated Standard Bank's CSI endeavours to tackling ECD-related challenges head-on by partnering with organisations such as Sebofon and Ntataise that can make a real impact in the communities they operate in."
An alarming reality
Between April and June 2022, 243 children and 855 women were murdered in South Africa, with a further 1 670 children becoming victims of grievous bodily harm, indicating a significant increase for the same period last year.
These statistics reveal individual, family and community tragedies that have far-reaching consequences. According to the group, given the government's ongoing campaign to voice South Africans' anger against violence against women and children, it is more important than ever to find ways of making our homes and communities safe and conducive to growth for all. This is especially for children.
Against this backdrop, Standard Bank implemented CSI initiatives to address these challenges, with particular attention given to early childhood development and school education.
Creating communities that nurture children
The first 1 000 days in a child's life could unlock their life-long potential. By age five, almost 90% of a child's brain will be developed.
These are the formative years where factors will largely influence a child's future as an adult. These factors include:
- adequate healthcare
- good nutrition
- quality childcare and nurturing
- a clean and safe environment
- early learning, and
- stimulation.
Partnerships between Standard Bank and grassroots organisations such as Sebofon and Ntataise make it possible for children to access these critical factors that could impact the direction of their lives.
Sebofon is a specialist in early childhood education (ECE) with expertise in socio-educational support and intervention for children up to the age of nine. Sebofon has spent the last three years providing an educational improvement intervention for:
- ECD practitioners
- parents, and
- caregivers in Pongola.
In support of Sebofon's aims to upskill primary caregivers, Standard Bank donated two 'Edutainers' (mobile ECD centres) on Wednesday, 16 November, in partnership with The BrightKids Foundation. This donation was directly linked to the bank's 160
th birthday celebrations in October, where clients and staff were called upon to share their 'Reasons to Believe in Africa.'
For each reason shared, Standard Bank donated R160 to build ECD centres.
The 'Edutainers' in Pongola are fully equipped instant classrooms built from repurposed 12-metre containers that can accommodate 25 children.
Ntataise Lowveld prioritises the research-backed outcomes of learning through play by providing access to ECD-aligned playgroups hosted in safe and secure spaces. This is where young children in the rural communities of Nkomazi and Mbombela also get a nutritious breakfast upon arrival and a healthy snack before they depart three times a week for four hours a day.
"We share the same goal with our CSI partners in that we want to address the environments in which our children grow up. Activities that involve playing, singing or reading and that stimulate the brain through all the senses can help improve their ability to think and communicate, which is why Standard Bank is so excited to be part of these efforts," says the team at Ntataise Lowveld.
Giving children a reason to believe in the future
In addition to these ECD-focused initiatives, Standard Bank is partnering with Nal'ibali and local community radio stations to promote storytelling to encourage literacy development within South Africa.
2022's holiday programme is aimed at all children between the ages of one and 10.
The group says that it will continue to celebrate South Africa's diverse heritage through the power of reading aloud. Standard Bank will also launch a Back2School educational drive in January 2023. The drive aims to provide African learners with the school supplies they need to get ahead.
"By supplying school shoes and age-appropriate stationery packs, we're hoping to address the inadequacies of learning support materials in South Africa. It is said that school shoes symbolise the journey a young learner must walk to attain a better future. At Standard Bank, we believe that we can change lives with one pair of school shoes for every learner," concludes Greenop.
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