Foundation to help government support Early Childhood Development projects

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The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has signed a two-year memorandum of understanding with Hollard Foundation Trust (HFT) to support Early Childhood Development (ECD) projects in Gauteng.

The briefing session regarding the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed earlier this year took place at the Birchwood Hotel on June 8.

Gauteng Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said: “Over the next two financial years the partnership between GDSD and HFT will work together to bring ECD services to nearly 37 000 new children in Gauteng who previously had no access to any form of ECD or early learning.

“This will be accomplished through a methodology that will identify, match, train, support, access, register and fund over 2 000 ECD non-centres and 300 ECD centres by the end of financial year 2019/20.

Mayathula-Khoza said over the brief period to date of the GDSD and the HFT MOU and implementation plan, significant progress has already been made.

GDSD and HFT have identified 167 ECD non-centres that meet requirements and are ready for registration which in turn, if granted, will allow practitioners to access the Department of Social Development ECD per child subsidy.

“To reach the Annual Performance Plan targets of over 480 000 children receiving ECD services in 2020, GDSD and partners, including the Hollard Foundation Trust, need to continue to work together to maximize efficiencies in the system to reach as many children as possible,” Mayathula-Khoza said.

Ntjantja Ned, HFT CEO, said: “We have a history of working with individual municipalities and we are happy to have partnered with the provincial government to change lives. We would like the partnership to go beyond the current two as we would like to continue reaching more children.”

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