ECD centre to ‘adopt’ two disadvantaged children

SUNSHINE EduCare Centre in Club 2000, Galeshewe, is set to “adopt” two local disadvantaged children as part of Mandela Month. The centre is committed to supporting these children until they reach high school.

The selected beneficiaries must come from disadvantaged families and rely on a Sassa grant. This initiative reflects the centre’s dedication to fostering positive and lasting change within their community.

Kgomotso Semanego, a teacher at the centre, explained that the chosen children, who will be announced soon, will have the opportunity to attend crèche for free, with all benefits included, until they are ready to start school.

Additionally, the centre will continue to support these children by enrolling them in aftercare services.

Sunshine EduCare Centre, a registered NPO, was established in 2021, initially offering Saturday classes to help community learners with their homework.

Semanego shared that their vision is to educate and train young minds, regardless of their backgrounds, to become symbols of excellence and greatness anywhere, any time.The centre is currently in the process of registering the facility and is seeking donations to help make the facility more compliant.

She mentioned that while doing home visits, she often found younger children left unattended and was frequently asked why she didn’t help them as well. She highlighted that she is a qualified Level 5 ECD practitioner.

“Parents were often impressed when I engaged with the younger children, keeping them occupied with activities like colouring tasks. I could accommodate them by putting my skills and qualifications into action,” she said.

“This experience allowed me to identify a gap in our community, as I was often placed at centres in town for my practicals. Together with our current principal, we decided to establish a centre that offers the same quality as those in town.

“We were looking at ways to provide quality ECD services to those children who are dependent on social grants and are in the township. We want those disadvantaged children to also benefit by being taught according to the ECD programme.

“We recognised the need for an ECD centre in the community because many local crèches have turned into nanny centres where children spend their days eating and sleeping without proper stimulation and development.

“Sunshine EduCare Centre is a centre where we stimulate, develop and explore the potential of the children and the best way to achieve that is to teach through play.”

She said the centre was launched in 2023 with about 40 children. They have since increased that number to 90 children.

“Our fees are set below the Sassa grant because we believe every child deserves access to quality education, regardless of their economic background. We are an English-medium ECD Centre.”

Semanego added that they are also focusing on yearly outreach programmes, giving back to communities that deserve clean and safe environments for their children. In December, they painted two houses.

“One of the houses was identified by the community after the owner lost her child in a fire. We offered to paint the house, and the owner was very happy. She told us that the unpainted house was a constant reminder of the tragedy whenever she entered the bedroom where the life was lost.”

She said this motivated them to do more for the community in terms of upliftment.

"We decided to go beyond handing out food parcels, which only last for a month. What happens after that?

"That’s how our initiative to adopt a child came about. Our crèche charges R450 per month and doesn’t receive any sponsorship. We rely solely on the fees to cover staff salaries, food, rent, chairs, tables and toys.

"However, we understand that some parents depend solely on the child grant, which they need to buy household food, leaving them unable to afford crèche fees.

“We have decided to support two ‘adopted’ children until they start school and include them in our aftercare programme until Grade 7. We will assess their needs at that stage and continue to assist them as necessary.”

The centre hosted a charity drive on July 18, in commemoration of Mandela Day, which saw them distributing clothes donated by community members.

She concluded by saying that the two “adopted” children will be identified by the end of this month.

“We want to ensure a smooth process by conducting background checks on the recommendations before making a decision. This is necessary because sometimes families claim poverty when the real issue is mismanagement of funds.”