Mams principal grateful for launch of ECD centre
The Ford and Nelson Mandela Foundation handed over 27 ECD centres as part of the Centenary CSR Project.
Ford South Africa and Nelson Mandela Foundation officially opened the Bophelo Daycare Centre in Mamelodi East.
Bophelo Day Care Centre cares for 62 children from the Mamelodi community and was formally handed over with a commemorative plaque unveiling on July 29.
Principal Lily Mokwena, said: “I am very happy and very grateful for the things you have done here at Bophelo Day Care, and the parents are so happy. The new building is nice and big and will greatly improve the care and learning we can provide for the children.”
She said starting a daycare is something she had planned; being unemployed and fighting boredom at home brought the idea.
She said she started taking care of the neighbour’s child for free, and then other parents also brought their children.
The daycare officially started operating in 2017.
Duduzile Nxele said Ford SA was funding the construction of 100 early childhood development (ECD) centres in disadvantaged communities across the country during its Centenary year, building on Madiba’s legacy of using education to uplift communities.
She said Ford’s project partner, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), has identified existing nursery schools, preschools, and ECD centres in desperate need of new facilities to create a conducive learning environment.
Nxele said a total of 27 ECD centres have been completed and handed over thus far in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape, benefiting 1 075 children.
“This legacy CSR project forms part of Ford’s Centenary celebrations in South Africa, with a total of 100 ECD centres being constructed through this initiative.
Funding has been provided by Ford South Africa, and the project is being implemented by the Nelson Mandela Foundation under the guidance of the Department of Basic Education, which is identifying ECD centres in need of new facilities. Ford Credit has also contributed funds to this initiative,” said Nxele.
The new ECD centres are being built to replace existing nursery schools, preschools, and ECD facilities that are under-resourced, dilapidated, and not compliant with the government’s health and safety requirements.
Professor Verne Harris, acting CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the foundation’s partnership with Ford has yielded tangible outcomes for community upliftment and enhancing dignity for young children.
“Partnerships like these are imperative, as they bring us closer to addressing the inequities faced in our society.”
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