Boost for Lifeline pre-school

LIFELINE’S Educare Centre in the heart of Durban at the Warwick Triangle received a welcomed boost on Monday, when Absa staff members arrived with lunch, educational toys, a television and DVD player and other goodies for the young children.

Absa’s Mona Jansen van Rensburg said the bank always encouraged their staff to become involved in CSI projects as a team. “We decided amongst ourselves that we had to focus on a project that involves education and children and one that really needs the funding and we decided on Ukuba Nesibindi Educare.

The Absa Trade Solutions KZN team is made up of regional manager, Selvan Kisten, Abu- Bakir Ali, Darishan Padayachee, Deysie Naicker, Eugene Barnard, Lodewyk Riekert, Saritha Sewpaul, Vanessa Naidoo and Zahida Tootla and Mona Van Rensburg.

Xolile Ngubane a LifeLine counsellor and school assistant teacher at the Educare Project said she was “too glad” to receive the donation of educational toys especially the TV and DVD player as the children would now be able to learn with interactive DVDS.

Pravisha Dhanapalan, Director at LifeLine said they had submitted the LifeLine Educare project to ABSA and were grateful for their immediate interest and continued support for the Educare project as their CSI initiative. “The Educare Centre provides an Early Childhood Development programme to 26 children between the ages of two to six years. The centre is diverse, catering for children from both South African and other North African countries. Many of the parents of the children are street vendors,” she said.

The Educare Centre provides a safe space for the young children, where they are cared for and stimulated developmentally while their parents work. Two Educare teachers are employed by DUT, and implement the SMILE education programme.