Developing your child at an early age is important
Matlala said the agency deals with the normal day-to-day challenges of running an ECD centre on a constrained budget
By Robert Mangwale
Early Childhood Centre Development Agency(ECDA) is an intermediary between daycare centres and potential sponsors in facilitating the smooth running of crèches.
The director/manager of ECDA Kefiloe Matlala said the mission of their agency is to make sure that all Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre owners know how to manage their centres.
ECDA team are well informed on the problems faced by township crèches, as they also offer Early Childhood Development services on the agency’s premises.
Matlala said the agency deals with the normal day-to-day challenges of running an ECD centre on a constrained budget.
“We learned that, during training, some centres are left behind when it comes to administering and managing ECD centres. However, after training them we give them certificates of competence and thereafter the principals become our clients in order for them to get continuous professional support,” Matlala said.
The main aim of ECD centres is to establish a safe environment where children can be well educated at an early age.
“Teachers of these children must behave in a good manner and we are busy doing skills workshops with them.
We understand some of the challenges experienced by child minding centres; however, we must engage with one another and come up with proper solutions to empower our local crèches,” Matlala added.
Matlala said they have a good relationship with parents and the educators of the children at large and he said some of the things that they are doing is to organise events to create a relationship with the community in raising funds for crèches.” More people are needed to join the ECDA, especially the youth, so that they can understand the business part of the industry.”
He said young people have to be patient to learn, and know that success does not come overnight; he said they must stay away from drugs, teenage pregnancy and be innovative in developing children in that learning phase.
He said their agency was registered this year in March, hence it supplies other centres with stationery.
Matlala added that they had ten years experience running an agency like ECDA.
