Compliments of the new year to all our friends and families and staff! 

The Skihula Sonke team is back, healthy, safe and already in action. We have 2 young men who are not joining us this year as they will be pursuing their studies full time: Aphiwe finished in December and Khanyile is finishing end of January. We wish you both all the best and thank you for your contribution. 

The team was in full swing last week... Thembi started the new year with some training in the form of an Anger and Conflict management workshop internally for all staff members. Fieldworkers and other staff members did toy audit/inventory. Team leadership has begun with preparation for the SISO ECD conference and we also working on our important internal measuring and evaluation tools (M&E framework). We’re also excited to have two students from Israel who will work in our library for a few weeks this year. Viva 2014!

The Sikhula Sonke team welcomes all young children from 0-6 years, those that are starting ECD in 2014, and those returning to our ECD setting.  We all welcome you to 2014 with all our love, and hope that you will enjoy your learning time (either formal or informal) this year. We are very excited to see you and your families.

We also are aware of the setbacks many children face, things like being deprived of an opportunity to enrol in primary schools because children do not have birth certificates or because of other challenges. This really hurts us too. At SISO we refuse to allow certain pieces of paper to become the gatekeepers of the future of our young citizens, and we will do all in our power to assist these children and parents. For this reason, Sikhula Sonke offers free education (no strings attached) to the children of Khayelitsha.

We also want to strongly encourage families who have not yet registered their children to do so, so that your children can enter mainstream schooling when they are old enough. Please, give your children the gift of learning. Please don’t put this off for another year.

Together, we want to see our children grow up strong and educated, for the future of our community, our families and our country.

What a milestone and story! We are thrilled to report back to you that thanks to the generosity of the our donors towards the Emthonjeni Programme in 2013 that:
- we expanded with a new site
- the percentage of children not accessing ECD education has been reduced by 70% in the area
- Emthonjeni children are given a once-weekly joint session with children from formal ECD centres
- The first 5 children have graduated to grade R and received certificates
- 12 parents have been employed from the area.
- The Programme has contributed in reducing the level of sexual abuse on children in the area.
- We have had some parents praising the organisation for giving them the opportunity to volunteer and later became employed.
- Sikhula Sonke has contributed to and revived the hopes of the unemployed youth by securing them contractual employment to the Independent development trust.
- Youth, Caregivers and some of the parents have acquired Early Childhood development skills through our training and children's activities.