Play with a Purpose celebrates 30 years

Play with a Purpose recently celebrated their 30th birthday with cheese and wine in Muldersdrift.

The organisation’s Caryn Watson said in a statement that it seemed like only yesterday when Play with a Purpose (PWAP) started in 1991 and that the last 30 years have gone by so fast.

She said they had a great time celebrating their 30th birthday at their annual sponsors cheese and wine evening on Wednesday, November 24 with family, friends, colleagues, and sponsors. They also celebrated their wonderful children and staff past and present.

“Lerato Futshane, a Trustee of Play with a Purpose Educational Trust t/a Preschools 4 Africa, came to help celebrate our milestone; whilst Jeffrey Wienand, Operations Manager, launched the evening’s official speeches which included that Preschools 4 Africa was the first educational Institute worldwide to pass the ISO 9001 audit. This helped them come through the challenges of 2020/ 2021 and Covid-19 strongly.”

Robyn Wienand, the founder and CEO spoke about the humble beginnings of Play with a Purpose and how the programme has evolved over the years. She started PWAP in her house for her own children and later built up the PWAP Early Childhood Development programme, and the training and mentorship worldwide.

She then decided to bring the programme to South Africa by developing the social franchise model for teachers, providing them with whole-school mentorship and training for Early Childhood Centres.

“Through providing quality early childhood education within walking distance of every child, we are able to make a fundamental difference within the first six years of a child’s life, and by extension, directly influencing their adult years in becoming gainfully employed, and becoming good upstanding citizens of the world,” Robyn said.

Caryn said that the Play with a Purpose ECD programme is not only a unique early childhood development philosophy and programme; it covers how to implement the theoretical side of CAPS and NELDS, gives hands-on skills training and on-site mentoring for the principals and staff.

“PWAP helps schools understand standards and norms such as health and safety standards, and stipulated development guidelines. Adult-to-child ratios are monitored according to a specific quality assurance programme including focus areas, which are duplicable and simple despite the underlying depth of research. This is overseen by training manager Bonginkosi Mpinda,” said Caryn.

The total impact of the Play with a Purpose social franchise network has reached more than 12 600 children, over 850 teachers, and has indirectly impacted 3 565 centres across Southern Africa, Ghana and Nigeria, and further afield in Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America and Australia.

“Providing low-income families with high-quality childcare results in reduced social costs, stronger families, and high levels of achievement, leading to a stronger national economy,” enthused Michelle-Chanté Wienand, programme manager and coordinator.

Caryn said it is critical to understand the needs of a community. These needs are evaluated by impact baseline assessments conducted by Play with a Purpose, which guides the organisation in focusing their work where it is needed.

“The pre-PWAP early education centres by comparison are proving that the PWAP programme and its philosophies have a direct impact on these centres standing the test of time and quality education.”

If you would like to get involved with this organisation you can contact them on 084 310 9035 or send an email to info@pwap.org.za.