- Trainers and mentors reach remote ECD centres.
- Eight Vivos used by CECD teams.
- Partnership with CECD and Ntataise since 2008.
- 285 149 ECD professionals reached in 18 years.
- Over 1,2 million children have benefited.
For trainers and mentors serving early childhood development (ECD) centres in remote communities, reliable transport is what makes practical, face-to-face support possible at underserved centres. That transport will continue after Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) extended its vehicle support agreement with the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) and Ntataise, so these teams keep the vehicles they need to reach those centres.
Through this on-site coaching, educators receive training, mentorship and learning materials. These help them carry out effective teaching interventions and improve early learning outcomes.
How the Volkswagen Vivo fleet is used
CECD runs eight Vivos, which its deputy director, Jessica Blom, said play a vital enabling role in reaching underserved areas. Many of the centres the organisation supports are in hard-to-reach communities across South Africa. “With the right vehicles, CECD can respond more quickly to challenges, reach more centres more regularly, and ensure consistent, high-quality support to those who need it most,” she said.
Ntataise uses its vehicle to give role-modelled support to practitioners across two districts in the Free State and four in North West. “Without this mobility, reaching and supporting these communities would be impossible,” said Puleng Motsoeneng, Director of Ntataise.
Partnership reach since 2008
The arrangement was established in 2008. Since then, CECD and Ntataise have worked with other ECD organisations in different provinces in South Africa, widening the programme’s reach. Over the past 18 years, it has had an impact on 285 149 ECD professionals and more than 1,2 million children in underserved communities.
Blom pointed out that thousands of young children, particularly in poor, rural and peri-urban areas, still face barriers in accessing quality ECD services, even though the early years are the most critical for cognitive, emotional and social development.
Education in the VWGA CSI programme
According to Nonkqubela Maliza, Corporate and Government Affairs Director at the carmaker’s African arm, education remains one of the key pillars of its corporate social investment work. She said extending the agreement helps trainers and mentors reach communities and provide the support needed to strengthen early learning.
The initiative also takes the company’s CSI programmes beyond Gauteng and the Eastern Cape into other communities in South Africa.
Supplied by QuickPic (Volkswagen)
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