Sipho (not his real name) was abandoned by his mother when he was a baby. He is in the care of his grandmother, who supports him with her small pension.
Sipho (not his real name) was abandoned by his mother when he was a baby. He is in the care of his grandmother, who supports him with her small pension.
A patient of the Grahamstown Hospice, Sipho, 5, is developmentally delayed and would benefit from a stimulating environment – but his grandmother can't afford to send him to pre-school. The good news is that Sipho is now a beneficiary of Rhodes University's Centre for Social Development's (CSD) pre-school bursary fund.
During the past three years, more than 100 children have been able to attend various early childhood development (ECD) centres around Grahamstown. “When we started this project, we had 15 children on the programme," said CSD director Vera Adams. "This year we received enough funding to enable about 40 children to go to school.”
The centre works closely with nurses and social workers at the Grahamstown Hospice to identify orphans and vulnerable children in their care who otherwise would not otherwise be able to attend an ECD centre.
Angela Hibbert, psycho-social services manager at the Grahamstown Hospice says many of the children were poverty stricken, living solely on grants received from the government. "We are extremely grateful to CSD and the funders of this project for their tremendous support of so many children in our care,” Hibbert said.
The cost for one child to attend school is approximately R1000 a year. This covers school fees and one nutritious meal a day. "If there is extra money available, we also try to provide resources for the school which the child is attending," said Adams.
The main funder of the pre-school bursaries is the Masikhulisane Trust, a group of local volunteers who raise financial support in South Africa and overseas to support a variety of projects in and around Grahamstown.
Founder Chris Mann, the trust's honorary secretary and treasurer, said it was an honour for the trustees to support the work of dedicated professionals attending to such a dramatic and poignant need. The CSD supplements these fund with several fund raisers during the year. "Last year we hosted “Jazz in the Park” with the Kingswood Jazz band to raise money," Adams said.
Another link in the chain are community development facilitators, who are trained to work alongside early childhood development practitioners. They help identify vulnerable families and cases of abuse or neglect. They also facilitate family literacy programmes and community food gardens.
"There is no denying the importance of the early years of a child's life in their cognitive, social and emotional development," Adams said. "Children who grow up in environments where their developmental needs are not met are at an increased risk for compromised health and safety, and learning and developmental delays."
Anyone interested in getting involved in this project can contact CSD at 046 603 7221, or visit our centre in 5 Prince Alfred Street. More information on CSD’s activities is available on www.rhodes.ac.za/CSD.
