HOPE Worldwide SA’s CLTP 2.0 emphasises that children learn best through play
Contrary to the popular belief that children cannot learn and play at the same time, Nkhensani Mabunda, Caregiver Learning Through Play’s Senior Programmes Manager, says that play is the foundation of learning.
South Africa’s early childhood crisis is not hidden.
Many children from marginalised communities grow up without access to early learning centres. Without caregiver training, for many children, the first five years, the most critical window for brain development, pass without structured stimulation.
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However, into this gap steps the Caregiver Learning Through Play (CLTP) programme, now in its second phase. The programme aims to empower caregivers with tools to stimulate children’s development through play, nutrition, and responsive parenting.
Contrary to the belief that children playing in classrooms is destructive, Nkhensani Mabunda, CLTP’s senior programmes manager, said that playing was the foundation of learning for children.
Children learn best when they are playing, so incorporating that in their day-to-day activities makes it easier for them to learn,” she said. “The main thing to understand is that from the age of 0-6, that is when their brain development is at its peak. 90% of what we have now as adults was developed between the ages of 0-6.”
She emphasised that learning was embedded in everyday activities, not confined to classrooms, noting that a tomato in the kitchen could become a lesson about colours and a playful request could become a cognitive exercise.
This matters because, as Mabunda points out, most South African children never attend early learning institutions. Their first teachers are their caregivers, often mothers, grandmothers, or guardians.
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According to Dr Marc Aguirre, country director of HOPE Worldwide South Africa, CLTP is about equipping parents to meet the needs of their children the best way possible. “We recognised the power of parents and the power of play in transforming lives,” he shared. “So, it is really about helping parents that are already doing a fantastic job understand their important role and how they can, through responsive parenting, really meet the needs of their children in a loving, empathetic, and responsive way.”
The first phase of CLTP, funded by LEGO Foundation, trained more than 500 000 caregivers nationwide in its first four years. The focus was on responsive care and playful learning. But as time went by, caregivers demanded more. Mabunda said caregivers wanted to learn about nutrition, to ensure that their children were developed holistically, and that necessitated the launch of CLTP 2.0
“So, in CLTP 2.0, we added these elements of health and nutrition, emergent literacy, and practical resources,” she noted.
Additionally, Mabunda said that caregivers who go through the programme with receive wordless picture books and posters on nutrition and play. She said this was important because by age five, children should have been exposed to at least 100 books.
Unlike the first programme, which cast a wide net, CLTP 2.0 is deliberately smaller. Over the next three years, Mabunda said it aimed to reach 150 000 caregivers. The sessions are more intensive; they will include three consecutive days of lessons, followed by six months of reinforcement messages.
Caregivers who wish to become part of the programme can send a WhatsApp message to 081 520 7112 or visit their website.
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