Umzamo Day Care Centre
Preschool and Creche

CURRENT DURBAN PROJECT

Feed the Babies introduced Chic Mamas to Umzamo Day Care Centre in 2015. They considered it deserving of assistance and offered us the opportunity to make a difference.

We were taken to a dilapidated wood and iron shack that flooded with every rain, had little ventilation, and had been rebuilt once due to a fire that blazed through the informal settlement. There we met the amazing Nomusa Dlungwana who single-handedly cared for up to 20 children, 6 days per week, aged from 3mths to 6yrs. Whilst the children were being safely baby sat, there was no awareness of the need for developmental stimulation, and under those trying circumstances it simply wasn’t possible.

Fast forward to 2020, and Umzamo is now a fully functional preschool and crèche. It is positioned on a spacious site on the edge of the informal settlement. Safely fenced, it consists of three classroom structures, 2 play areas, a water-harvesting system and ablutions. Nomusa has employed 2 full time assistants from the community to help her care for the 54 joyful little learners.
Nomusa has completed three years of accredited ECD training to achieve her National ECD Diploma and assistant teacher, Thalente Dlungwana, is currently in her second year of the same course.
We watch in amazement as this school continues to thrive and give hope to their community.

Spethlamandlhla

CURRENT DURBAN PROJECT

In 2022 we welcomed Sphelthamandla Preschool and Crèche into the fold. This ECD Centre is situated in Clermont. . Fikile MaNyambose who runs the school was educated through the Caversham Education Institute with the help of Chic Mamas Do Care funds, and we are currently paying for 2 other teachers from this School.

This School started with one classroom, playground and toilets. The School has grown so quickly that they now have 3 full classrooms, kitchen, toilets and storeroom. Pupils attending this school has grown to 50.

We were very fortunate, in 2023 to have a local company Combined Motor Holdings who came on board and donated one of our classrooms for our youngest pupils at the school. We had to extend the area of the School in 2024 to accommodate the last big classroom.

Projects for 2025/ 2026 will be to upgrade the playground equipment to accommodate the growing numbers that are attending this school. The School has exceeded all expectation to become a thriving centre of excellence.

We continue to provide Jam Porridge for all our schools, and service the toilets when needed.

The Valley Trust

CURRENT DURBAN PROJECT

The Valley Trust (TVT) is an NPO established in 1953 and situated in the Valley of 1000 Hills, in Durban. The vision of the organisation is to empower the rural communities of the Valley of 1000 Hills.

THEIR (TVT) MAIN FOCUS IS:

• The promotion of Child Health and Development in conjunction with improving the life chances of young people from the Valley of 1000 Hills through linking them with opportunities for self-advancement.
• TVT also runs a community-based comprehensive HIV prevention programme providing counselling and testing intervention to reduce HIV incidence in the wide community.
• The TVT supports the communities of a 1000 Hills helping them to live healthy lives and thrive. It is a nucleus hub that has an ECD centre, parents and staff living on the premises, as well as a clinic that provides much needed support to the community.
• They have a thriving vegetable garden, a bakery and a preloved clothing shop that sustains the children and the wider community.

Objectives:

1. Provide high-quality ECD education and maintain a well-structured, supportive learning environment that fosters optimal development and growth for young children.
2. Continuously strengthen the capacity of community–based ECD centres to deliver high-quality education and care by fostering a network of excellence that benefits children, families and the community at large.
3. Ensure the ECD centre contributes towards the organisation’s long-term sustainability and community relevance by fostering innovative resource generation, strategic partnership and adaptive programming that has positive impact to the community members it serves.

Impact:

Our ECD centre combined with household ECD’s in the community will nurture the minds of 305 young children, laying the foundation for a life long love of learning and a brighter future.

Teacher Training
Caversham Education Institute

CURRENT DURBAN PROJECT

There are several ex preschool teachers on the Durban team and a core group regularly visit the schools to give encouragement, direction and to pick up on any areas of need.

Unless teachers are adequately equipped, they are unable provide their preschoolers with the vital stimulation and early development children need for school readiness. We believe that our best means of impacting the greatest number of preschoolers, is through properly trained teachers.

For this reason, we prioritise sponsorship of training for the teachers at the schools we install.

This training is in the form of the three year accredited National Diploma in ECD through Caversham Education Institute, and through ongoing training courses offered by CCRC (Communities, Children and Responsible Care)

One of our objectives is for our school supervisors to become empowered to function independently of Chic Mamas. Post installation, we walk alongside the schools for a limited period, assisting where necessary and guiding them in areas where skills or knowledge is lacking. This covers NPO regulations and returns, PBO registration, SARS requirements, compulsory DSD registrations, grant applications, budgeting and fundraising.  Fortunately we have been able to access pro bono assistance in many areas. Once the above requirements have been worked through, our team gradually withdraws and the the supervisors are expected to follow through on their own.