Help educares give SA children the start they need

Early Childhood Development (ECD) in South Africa faces deep structural challenges. Nearly 60% of ECD programmes operate without proper registration, while close to two-thirds of children aged 0–5 grow up in the poorest 40% of households. Alarmingly, 1.3 million children aged 3–5 have no access to structured early learning.

Over our seventeen years in the sector, we have seen committed Principals and Practitioners who want to run quality, compliant centres but lack access to the training, guidance, and practical support needed to do so.

With this in mind, we are very excited that in 2026, the Starting Chance Trust enters an exciting new chapter with the official launch of the Starting Chance Inclusive Training Facility and the Sakha IThemba Inclusive Educare Centre (We Build Hope). Both facilities will be housed in one purpose-built site on School’s Street in Ward 114, Mfuleni. Designed to state-of-the-art standards rarely seen in low-income communities on the Cape Flats, this facility marks a significant investment in quality, dignity, and innovation within the early childhood development (ECD) sector.

A Centre of Excellence for ECD Practice

A key feature of the facility is an observation room with a one-way mirror, which will enable practitioners and principals from Mfuleni and beyond to observe high-quality teaching, learning and examples of good governance in practice. This strengthens Starting Chance’s role-modelling approach and positions the site as a Centre of Excellence in ECD.

The Inclusive Training Facility will host specialists and experts whose work supports the three core building blocks of child development: literacy, numeracy, and life skills. Through training, workshops, and mentorship, the facility will continue to build practitioner capacity across communities.

Sakha IThemba Inclusive Educare Centre

Alongside the training facility, Starting Chance will launch Sakha IThemba Inclusive Educare Centre, a school that showcases the full impact of the organisation’s Classroom and Learning Management (CALM) framework. The school will model how ECD centres in low-income communities can create safe, well-managed, and stimulating learning environments. Sakha IThemba is intentionally an inclusive school, with programmes designed to encourage meaningful interaction between children with special needs and children in mainstream settings. As part of this approach, children from Lonwabo Special Care and Tangram Academy will visit Sakha IThemba once a month to participate in shared learning and play-based activities, promoting inclusion, empathy, and social connection from an early age. The school will also demonstrate effective governance, supported by an active School Governing Body and strong community involvement.

Leadership and Timeline

Sakha IThemba will be led by Principal Noma-efese Nodliwa, supported by practitioners Nozipho Ndarala, Amahle Tima, and Nomzamo Torato-Ngqola, with professional guidance from Starting Chance Educational Specialist Mrs. Nombulelo Dingiso.

The school will officially commence on 2 February 2026. The first quarter will be hosted at Lonwabo Special Care, while construction of the permanent facility is completed in mid-February 2026. Parents are warmly invited to the Sakha IThemba Open Day on 31 January 2026, where they will learn more about the school and its programme for the year. ‘

Starting Chance looks forward to this new wave of growth as it deepens its impact and continues to improve the lives of children aged 0–6 years through quality, inclusive early learning.

Please consider joining us in this new chapter. We would be hugely grateful for donations to support this exciting venture.

Links:

• Starting Chance website

In South Africa, according to Thrive by Five Index, 62% of children experience multidimensional poverty. 21.3% aged 17 or less do not live with their parents, only 32% live with both parents, and 42% live with their mothers only. Given this scenario, in the early childhood sector, it is imperative to ensure positive life skill training is open to all caregivers.

This year, our theme "Building Bloacks for Life Skills" has been our driving goal and we have worked hard to impact Parents/caregivers, Practitioners and Principals. This has ensured 2791 children in the 46 schools we support are getting positive life skill support.

The third quarter of 2025 marked an important period for Starting Chance as we celebrated the Nelson Mandela legacy through our flagship July programmes. These activities provided opportunities for parents, practitioners, and children to engage meaningfully in activities that strengthen early childhood development.

As part of our annual flagship initiative, we hosted two high-impact workshops: the Parent Workshop (12 July) and the Practitioner/Principal Workshop (27 July), both led by Dr Wanga Zembe, Senior Specialist Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council. The sessions centered on life skills development and saw strong participation and engagement.

In addition, all 46 supported schools received school resource packs, which included outdoor play equipment and games designed for all age groups, with a special focus on children aged 0–3 years. Our field team emphasized the importance of outdoor play in the first 1,000 days, encouraging practitioners to integrate it as a key component of early learning.

These workshops laid the foundation for the Family Heritage Event on 27 September 2025, which drew over 500 families from Mfuleni and surrounding communities. Practitioners showcased creative, fun, and educational Life Skills-based activities for children and parents/caregivers to enjoy. Parents expressed their appreciation for the safe and stimulating environment, noting how rare it is to have such opportunities for young children in their community.

Recognising the central role of parental involvement in early childhood education, Starting Chance launched school-based parent workshops on 30 August 2025, beginning with our Hub and Hub Plus schools. These workshops were designed to strengthen engagement between schools and families, while empowering practitioners to take on greater roles as facilitators and community leaders. The successful launch sets the foundation for expansion in 2026, where TTinT and Alumni schools will also be included.

Building strong community partnerships remains a cornerstone of Starting Chance’s strategy. We continue to strengthen collaborations with key stakeholders, including the Mfuleni ECD Forums, Mfuleni Library, Mfuleni Primary School, Nalik'amva Primary School, and Tsitsa Primary School. These partnerships position Starting Chance as a thought leader in the developmental space, ensuring that our impact extends beyond individual schools to the wider Mfuleni community

Starting Chance would like to urge friends, partners, and associates to contribute towards strengthening our position as a thought leader and collaborative partner to the Mfuleni community. We aim for all schools under the Starting Chance umbrella to participate in the school-based parent workshops. As an organisation, we provide take-home packs for parents, containing practical resources they can use at home to stimulate their children’s learning and growth.

Your continued support is deeply appreciated as we mobilise the community to value the importance of early childhood education—ensuring that every child is given a starting chance.

Links:

• Training Programme