April 2021
We received this photo and a glowing report from Elma Esterhuysen from Stofeiland farm in the Northern Cape where the SmartStart programme is used as development programme for aftercare facilitators. The creche and aftercare facility on the farm were established with Waitrose funding. The SmartStart organisation has been working with various clusters in the region for some years, providing training and mentorship of and support for partial care facilitators.
Three years ago, Waitrose Foundation’s Manager Education & Training Support, Hilda Links, identified an opportunity for collaboration with the Capespan Foundation Northern Cape to train Early Childhood Development facilitators. The training was conducted by Smartstart.
We are delighted that this programme has proved to be of great value to the partial care facilitators in the area and that the skills they acquire directly benefit the kids in their care. In turn it gives their parents (agri-workers on partner farms) the peace of mind that their children are well cared by trained staff at each facility. In this photo, attending a recent online training session with SmartStart, are: Mary-ann Swart, Charlotte Isak, Nicolene Neels and Mariana Visagie.
