 Khayelitsha, Cape Town — May 2026 -
Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development will celebrate World Play Day 2026 by hosting Khayelitsha’s largest picnic for preschool children from early learning centres located across the informal settlements of the community. The annual event will take place on the last Friday of May at OR Tambo Hall on Mew Way in Site B, bringing together hundreds of young children, teachers, caregivers, and community members for a day dedicated to play, learning, safety, and joy. The picnic has become a cherished tradition in Khayelitsha since it was first launched by Sikhula Sonke in 2014 as part of Child Protection Week. The inaugural event welcomed 500 children together with their teachers and caregivers, creating a safe and nurturing environment where children could play freely while raising awareness about the importance of protecting children’s rights and wellbeing. Now in its twelfth year, the annual picnic continues to grow as a symbol of community care and investment in early childhood development. World Play Day highlights the importance of play in children’s emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development. For many children living in under-resourced communities, opportunities for safe and structured play remain limited. Through this initiative, Sikhula Sonke aims to create meaningful experiences that support healthy childhood development while strengthening partnerships between families, educators, and the broader community. “Every child deserves the right to feel safe, valued, protected, and free to play,” said Mdebuka Mthwazi, Executive Director of Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development. “The 2026 Child Protection focus reminds us that protecting children is not only about responding to harm, but about building communities where children can thrive with dignity, care, and opportunity. Through this picnic, we celebrate childhood while also calling on society to work together to create safer environments for every child in Khayelitsha.” The event will include games, educational activities, entertainment, music, healthy meals, and opportunities for caregivers and educators to engage around child protection and early learning issues. Sikhula Sonke invites community stakeholders, local organisations, donors, volunteers, and members of the media to join in celebrating the children of Khayelitsha and advancing the importance of play and child protection in early childhood development. Media Enquiries Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development Khayelitsha, Cape Town Winkie Cebisa 0737246830 [email protected] About Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development works to support early childhood development and strengthen early learning centres in Khayelitsha, particularly within informal settlements, through community-based programmes, training, advocacy, and child-centred initiatives that promote the wellbeing, safety, and development of young children. www.sikhulasonke.org.za  The recent Cape storms hit some of our ECDs hard, with roofs blowing off and doors destroyed by the wet weather. Many roads in Khayelitsha's formal and informal areas are flooded. Nevertheless, our staff and the communities are resilient and as soon as the rain ceased, repairs are underway. We would like to salute the many ECD teachers who make every effort with often very limited resources. Thank you for your commitment to education, to the children and to the communities. #sisochampions #sisoreachingfamilyandcommunity
 The year started with strategic planning in Strandfontein with the whole SISO team. This focused on SISO’s vision, discussing the organization’s different structures and planning the tasks required to reach the different goals set out for each structure.
Social work deals with three levels (micro, mezzo and macro) and we solve problems that each level faces using a holistic approach. This quarter the social work team supported 203 clients through case management, home visits, parenting workshops and referrals. Some of the major challenges we faced include clients struggling with substance abuse, putting children at risk of neglect; the postponement of our planned GBV support group due to a temporary lack of our partner’s facilitators; and lack of documentation for children. The cases we dealt with involved 50% on the issue of parents failing to obtain birth certificates and Child Support Grants for their children. We have been able to resolve 20% of those cases. This quarter has contributed a lot to the team in terms of professional and personal growth as we interact with different challenges and achievements that our clients face on a daily basis. March is Social Work Month, and we honoured our practitioners who advocate daily for dignity, human rights and social justice across communities. In conclusion, the first quarter was filled with learning experiences and we are looking forward at the interventions implemented to ensure that the wellbeing of children is taken care of and the family as a whole. We are determined to keep working on social change by implementing efforts that aim at eradicating unemployment, poverty, discrimination and social injustice. Thank you to our clients for their trust, and to our partners and volunteers who make this work possible.  TEAM LEADERS FIRST QUARTERLY INSERT 2026
We have reached the end of the first quarter of the year and have managed to achieve most of the planned activities according to the annual work plan. As team leaders, we have taken responsibility for guiding and supporting the team in different aspects of their work. These experiences have strengthened our ability to take initiative and responsibility and have also helped us expand our capacity by supervising the team with greater confidence. Here are some of the highlights and challenges that we have encountered during the quarter.
Challenges
In closing, the first quarter was packed with lots of activities and we are very much encouraged by the progress made so far. We appreciate the continued commitment and collaboration from everyone involved and looking forward to building on this momentum in the coming quarter.  Our partnership with Wynberg Girls High School started five years ago, with learners from the High School supporting our Emthonjeni outreach programme learners with sandwiches each term. This project has grown to include gifts for some of our support groups, teacher resources like posters and food parcels at Christmas time to assist struggling families to feed their children when schools have closed. Once again we would like to thank Wynberg Girls High School's Service Pillar for gathering food parcels which were handed out to 48 Emthonjeni families and 10 of the Emthonjeni volunteers who assist us to run our preschool programmes using the informal spaces in the newer informal settlements in Khayelitsha. Thank you Wynberg Girls! #honourbeforehonours #sisochampions Emthonjeni reaches out to families who live in informal housing, many of whom do not have employment and who cannot afford to send their children to preschool. Our programmes use public spaces close to water points or bathrooms, engaging parents to assist with health, nutrition, parenting skills while teaching children the basics of literacy and numeracy in preparation for primary school.  As we close the final quarter of the year, it’s important not only to look at what Sikhula Sonke has achieved, but also to reflect on what has happened across the whole early childhood development sector. Our work in communities depends on how well we collaborate with others in this space. This year, strong partnerships with key stakeholders have helped us reach more children and make a bigger impact.  A quick review of Q4 This quarter, we saw practitioners working hard across many learning sites to prepare children for Grade R in 2026. The same was true in our playgroups, where teams worked together to give young children the support they needed this year and for the year ahead. It’s encouraging to see so many campaigns focused on vulnerable children. The Department of Health continued its work on immunisations, screenings, and other health needs. Food partners like For Afrika and Wynberg Girls’ High School ensured that children outside ECD centres received nutritious meals. Our programme partners—Kids Collab, FAMSA, Connect Network, WordWorks, Growing Together, and various government departments—also played a key role in giving children a strong foundation. Some special highlights
 What happened in the ECD ecosystem? This snapshot from the Thrive By Five Results / Early Learning Outcomes (ELOM 4&5 Total Score, reflecting children’s performance across the five domains) reveals that only 42% of children enrolled in early learning programmes in South Africa are developmentally on track for their age. Less than half of enrolled children have acquired the foundational skills needed to support a successful start to formal schooling.  There is much to do!
Sikhula Sonke's mission is even more vital than ever before as we work to prepare the next generation to enter schooling. As we enter our annual rest and holidays, the Sikhula Sonke Team would like to take this opportunity to wish you a safe, and healthy festive season full of love, peace and God’s presence.  46 caregivers attended the Parent Play Box workshop held on 27 November, which also helped us evaluate the programme. We salute these parents who showed their commitment to implementing new skills in daily parenting practices. #sisochampions #sisoreachingfamilyandcommunity  Congratulations to our Basic ECD Training students on their graduation. This is a one year course, with training once a week on Fridays. The course is very hands-on and practical and equips practitioners in setting up classrooms, running lessons, making their own resources and more. #sisochampions #sisoplayislearning  170 children graduated to Grade R from the Outreach programmes and ECD centres this year, with a lovely event held to celebrate our young learners. We wish them well for the start of Grade R in 2026, and their formal schooling. #sisoplayislearning #sisoreaching familyandcommunity |
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