How unemployed youth are helping to bring education to toddlers

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The world is an uncertain place. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know some things. We want our children to have the best chance at a bright future. 

Some of the critical moments in a child’s development occur in the early years when the brain is growing quickly. New research continues to show that important neural connections are being made. During this early stage of development, children are highly influenced by their environment and the people who surround them. A host of factors need to be present to ensure children develop optimally — good nutrition and stable and nurturing relationships with adults who care for them, among others. Lack of access to quality early learning opportunities is particularly problematic at this stage. An ecosystem of support is needed.

Many children in South Africa do not have the benefit of some of the vital ingredients crucial for enabling them to have a better future. Their experiences in the first five years of their life highlight the inequalities they face. For example, as shown by the Thrive by Five Index, poor children are less likely to be able to access quality early healthcare and nutrition, as well as early learning support, including accessing an early learning programme. Only about 45% of children aged four to five are found to be on track in terms of their early learning milestones according to the Index. 

aRe Bapaleng, a parental support programme of Seriti Institute, is addressing a vital gap in the early childhood development (ECD) ecosystem, supporting parents and caregivers in marginalised communities to be able to support the growth and development of their children through higher quality early learning support.

aRe Bapaleng equips parents and caregivers with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to make a difference in the lives of the children in their care. It uses a hands-on, interactive, and fun approach to doing this, which at the same time practically demonstrates the importance of learning through play, which is a key pathway to stimulate early learning and develop critical skills such as problem-solving and creativity. Parents and caregivers go through a series of active learning workshops (ALWs) where the key issues related to supporting a child’s development are tackled, from literacy to nutrition and cognitive skills. Seriti has designed and implemented aRe Bapaleng since 2020, upon identifying this gap in the ECD landscape.

The gap is evidenced by indicators reported by Statistics South Africa. First, in the context of five-year-old children, nationally, about 20% of children in this age group do not attend an educational institution such as pre-school or primary school. About six out of every 10 children (60%) up to the age of 17 are multidimensionally poor — they are deprived of at least three out of seven dimensions of well-being.

Although positive change has been registered by the programme, with caregivers providing feedback around how they have changed the way they parent and saying they are seeing real results, this is not enough. aRe Bapaleng has introduced the Caregiver Network-ER facet to the programme to introduce — a “train the trainer” approach whereby caregivers who have completed the aRe Bapaleng ALW series are equipped with additional training and support to become ECD champions in their communities. 

In 2022, the programme received funding from the National Youth Service (NYS), through the National Youth Development Agency and Jobs Fund as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI). The youth service works with youth in community service activities and is part of the broader PYEI designed to provide youth with work opportunities to improve their chances of transitioning into full-time employment. NYS aRe Bapaleng was born and recruited 3 000 participants nationwide that were trained to deliver ECD services in their communities for six months. 

aRe Bapaleng works closely with a range of partners, from public to private to other nonprofits, and in particular community-based organisations. Working together, social change is being catalysed. To date, 7 521 caregivers have been positively supported through the aRe Bapaleng programme, and as a result, 20 855 children up to the age of eight are receiving a higher quality level of ECD support. 

The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Mail & Guardian.