Global grant secures training for childhood development

The Rotary Club of Haenertsburg has recently secured a ‘Global Grant’ of over three quarters of a million rand to train 16 Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners at the Thusanang Trust early childhood and community development training centre outside Haenertsburg.

The 16 ECD practitioners, have all been selected from the 206 rural ECD centres that are affiliated to Thusanang and will receive a formal NQF Level 4 qualification registered with ETDP SETA, when they graduate in 2019.

In this programme, the practitioners will gain the necessary skills to provide stimulating activities for young children to facilitate their physical, emotional, social and cognitive development.

The programme also offers a strong focus on early literacy and numeracy, and provides a learning environment that is stimulating, safe and nurturing. There is currently a shortage of rural ECD skills in South Africa and funding for this critically important training has been provided by the Haenertsburg Rotary club, along with their international Rotary partners – the two Rotary Clubs of Fort Lauderdale and Point-West, Sacramento (both USA based).

There has also been a substantial contribution to this most worthy cause from the local Harley Owners Group (HOGS) based in Nelspruit.

These funds were matched by the international Rotary Foundation. Rotary is a global organisation with over 35,000 clubs in more than 200 countries. The US based Rotary Foundation encourages and supports investment in sustainable projects that strengthen a community’s capacity to meet its own needs. This includes humanitarian projects, vocational training and scholarships.