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Highlights of 2018

The Family Community Motivator (FCM) programme saw children from the First 1000 days and playgroups programme grow tremendously in their developmental milestones.
Caregivers received transference of skills and parenting mentorship from the FCM facilitators who used UNICEF manuals in their home visits and training sessions.
Children were exposed to themes as entailed in the National Curriculum Framework and engaged in numerous activities that enhanced their holistic development, benefitting from learning development stimulation. The children in the FCM programme have shown progressive holistic development in all age groups. Those who were proceeding to Grade R were found ready to start primary schooling. 

IN 2018:  148 families participated, 2015 home visits were made, 198 children were reached, 39 special needs children were helped and 111 children were referred to specialists for follow up.


THE IMBEWU COACHING & SUPPORT PROGRAMME  is designed to empower ECD practitioners with basic early childhood development skills. Practitioners were trained in the practical skills of running a classroom learning environment and how to stimulate children to learn. They were also trained in inclusive education to empower them to cope with children with special needs. Many of the practitioners who were trained at Sikhula Sonke in the last year are now registered in various Western Cape FET colleges. 

IN 2018: 43 class sessions, 122 participating ECDs, 405 ECDs visited this year ... reaching 1530 boys and 1400 girls in ECDs.


OUR FUNDA UDLALE TOY LIBRARY PROGRAMME  has seen expansion of its activities. The Harare Square Toy Library continues to be a resource centre for ECD centres and for participants in Sikhula Sonke’s family and community programmes, as well as the local community in Harare itself.
The Enkanini community was given a donation of two big yellow containers filled with children’s activities and games to set up their own Toy Library. This initiative was a partnership between the Happy Child Foundation and Sikhula Sonke’s Funda Udlale program. Little Libraries kindly also donated children’s books to enhance this Toy Library.
The Funda Udlale programme has helped many children in their development. Many children in our programmes are from the poorest areas of Khayelitsha, where parents simply cannot afford to buy toys, let alone educational toys. The Toy Library helps these children to learn through play and broadens their environment through access to and interaction with different educational toys, games and books. 
IN 2018:  147 toys and books borrowed, 15 FCM sessions hosted, 38 play sessions for Emthonjeni groups, 60 ECD visits. 


THE EMTHONJENI ‘WELLSPRING OF LEARNING’ PROGRAMME is executed at designed community spaces next to communal water taps and in community parks like that of UT-Gardens. The main goal of this programme is to provide ECD stimulation to children who cannot access formal ECD learning or preschools due to lack of access to finance, transport or for other reasons.

During the year these children were introduced to different themes of ECD learning. Many children were referred to specialised institutions for various special needs including hearing and visual screening. Caregivers and parents of the children in this programme also participated in an intensive Parent/Caregiver Training programme intervention to equip them with health and parenting skills. Sikhula Sonke’s teams report that children have benefitted greatly from the Emthonjeni interactions, training and events. 
IN 2018:  262 sessions were held in public spaces, reaching 143 boys and 145 girls, interacting with and equipping 240 parents and caregivers.  30 children were referred to specialists. 
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General stats

Over 200 Early Childhood Development Practitioners have been trained in Basic Assistant Teacher Training over the past 5 years, reaching more than 3500 children.

Sikhula Sonke has coached and trained 75+ ECD sites, resulting in most of them becoming registered with the Department of Social Development.

Sikhula Sonke successfully trained 10 ECD Assistants who were placed in the Khayelitsha Social Development district office to assist ECD sites in meeting the minimum requirements for registration.

Children graduating to junior school

We partner with local preschools and with caregivers. It is a joy to see many of the children that we reach either directly or indirectly (through equipping and supporting preschools and educators) move forward confidently into Grade R or Grade One at local primary schools in Khayelitsha. 

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