Eskom wants to develop reading among children at Bethal
Bokamoso Day Care Centre receives books.
The Eskom Development Foundation (EDF) sponsored and handed over books to the Bokamoso Day Care Centre at Naudesfontein Farm near Bethal, on Wednesday, February 16.
The chief of EDF, Cecil Ramonotsi, said: “A poor foundation at early childhood development phase is a huge injustice to children.
“It means a poor education trajectory that becomes more difficult to correct as the children progress throughout their academic journey.
“Early childhood experiences are particularly important in shaping the development of the child’s brain.”
“Since the dawn of democracy, children in previously disadvantaged communities have been facing social inequalities.
“A lack of access to quality education is one of these challenges.”
Eskom partnered with the GROW Educare Centres, a non-profit social enterprise that works with women-owned ECD centres in developing and under-resourced communities to transform their centres into credible and sustainable ECD centres through its 5 Steps to 5-Star programme.
The GROW 5 Steps to 5-Star programme includes an app that helps with the management of the centres, advanced education training and mentorship, business training and mentorship, accreditation and GROW franchising.
Through Eskom’s partnership, several GROW Educare Centres in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga received books to help teachers encourage a love for reading among the children.
Eskom donated 165 wordless books, reading books, classical and proudly South African books to GROW Educare Centres in three provinces.
“Eskom wants to instil a culture of reading in our communities,” said Ramonotsi.
“Reading sparks a child’s imagination, stimulates curiosity, and helps with the brain’s development.”
The books will be paired with a training programme provided to the ECD practitioners to help them understand the books and create a love of reading.
Eskom’s book donation forms part of a bigger plan that will be implemented by ECD practitioners in sustaining their businesses and ensuring compliance when running their centres.
“The ECD sector is under-resourced and underfunded,” said Jabulile Ndlovu of the Bokamoso Day Care Centre.
“Help of this nature is greatly appreciated as it strongly benefits the cognitive development of our children.”
Tracey Chambers, CEO of GROW Educare Centres said: “We empower our educators to use a technique called ‘dialogic’ book-sharing which is a special kind of interaction between an adult and a young child using a picture book.
“It is not simply reading to a child who listens passively, instead, it is an active exchange, led by the child, and supported by an adult who is attentive to their interests and communication.
“This enjoyable and simple activity has been proven to improve children’s language and cognitive development and help children understand and get along with other people better.”
Ramonotsi said many ECD centres have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, a sector that already faces strain from underfunding, resulting in many having to closed down and being unable to open again when the lockdown restrictions are eased.
“Through efforts such as our partnership with GROW, Eskom plays its part to ensure that ECD centres stay in business because unless they do not, this will have a dire effect on our communities,” said Ramonotsi.
“Eskom is mindful of the impact of quality education during the foundation phase of capacity development among children.
“Universal access to quality early childhood development for all South African children will, in the long term, contribute to reducing the inequalities in our communities.
