TRAC helps keep Early Childhood Development centres on the right track with refurbished creché
Trans African Concessions (TRAC) have pledged to help communities along the route to facilitate the early education of children in the communities along the N4 route.
MBOMBELA- According to the Mpumalanga manager responsible for enterprise development in the province, Joseph Mkhonto, there are glaring inequalities in Early Childhood Development (ECD), which in turn, perpetuates the inequalities which are still prevalent in the standard of education many young children receive in South Africa.
Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which manages the N4 in Tshwane and runs through Mbombela to the Maputo port in neighbouring Mozambique, have pledged to help communities along the route to facilitate the early education of children in these areas.
The Mataffin community near the Mbombela Stadium were recipients of this initiative on March 12 when the ribbon was officially cut on the upgrades to the Good Hope Centre by Mkhonto and the TRAC training and development manager and Corporate Social Initiatives (CSI) representative, David Mashaya.
ALSO READ: NSFAS Funding explained
Mkhonto reiterated President Cyril Ramaphosa’s drive to move ECD to the department of education and said, “The president has spoken about the realignment of ECD. This includes relocating ECD from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Education, transforming them from care centres to educational facilities.”
My generation was sent to creché where we slept most of the day until our parents collected us after work. We need a policy shift where ECD centres become places of learning.
The centre houses 140 children in the two to five-year old age range and is run by Ntombifuthi Nyoni who has secured the assistance of sponsors to ensure that the children’s basic nutritional and education needs are met.
The new multi-purpose centre was built for the non-profit organisation to protect the children from the elements and provide a safer environment, will ensure that they are accommodated in an environment which is conducive to teaching, learning and playing.
ALSO READ: Curro Nelspruit shows their mettle in regional sevens
Mkhonto added, “This is just a starting point for us to realise the main objective of changing the mindsets of our educators. We will be partnering with TRAC in order that they receive the necessary training to impart their knowledge to the children.”
