Supporting Early Childhood Development in Monwabisi Park

ABSTRACT South African policy has acknowledged Early Childhood Devel- opment (ECD) as an essential component to break the cycle of poverty. The City of has made ECD an integral part of its informal settlement upgrading programme. Through field observations and consultations with key ECD stakeholders, we proposed an innovative outreach programme integrated into the urban environment of small neighbourhood centres to pro- vide accessible ECD to all children in Monwabisi Park.

This project report is part of an ongoing research program by stu- dents and faculty of the WPI Cape Town Project Centre to explore and develop options for sustainable community development in the infor- mal settlements of . For more information please go to: http://wp.wpi.edu/capetown/

The following is an executive summary of a set of project reports that have been implemented as a website available at: http://wp.wpi.edu/capetown/homepage/projects/p2010/ecd

AUTHORS PROJECT SPONSORS Heather Bell ADIVSORS Chris Giles Isaac Barbour Professors VPUU Alyssa Gottshall Scott Jiusto & Courtney Sparrell Robert Hersh Nomzamo Landingwe

An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Mdebuka Mthwazi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science. Sikhula Sonke PROBLEM STATEMENT formal settlements is particularly South African Constitution, it is the vices. The available resources and challenging. In addition to funding duty of the local government to pro- infrastructure for ECD, provided The education of pre-school children limitations, the effort is hampered by vide ECD facilities for all children in mostly by the eight crèches located in LV HVVHQWLDO WR 6RXWK $IULFD¶V IXWXUH WKH DUHD  7KH &LW\ RI &DSH 7RZQ¶V Monwabisi Park, are unable to sup- a limited number of crèches (nursery because it breaks the cycle of poverty (&' SROLF\ UHFRJQL]HV WKH FLW\¶V UH port the amount of ECD aged chil- schools) and public facilities for ECD by giving each child the skills to reach sponsibilities to protect the rights of dren living in the settlement. No out- activities. Even if more crèches were his or her full potential. The need for children established by the UN Con- reach programme or standardizing built, many impoverished parents or more extensive Early Childhood De- vention on the Rights of the Child measures currently exist in Monwabi- guardians could not afford the crèche (UNCRC), to provide, fund and regu- si Park. This means the families of velopment (ECD) is recognized by fees. For these reasons, limited com- late ECD facilities, services and pro- the 57% of children who do not at- key stakeholders throughout impov- munity participation within ECD pro- grammes and to assist other groups tend a crèche have no support in erished areas of South Africa. ECD who are contributing towards ECD providing developmental opportuni- grammes is emerging as a major con- has been shown to directly correlate services. While many of these goals ties for their children. cern for South Africans. have been implemented in wealthier with enhanced student achievement Several outreach programmes have areas of Cape Town, most children in in primary school education. While been designed and implemented in BACKGROUND informal settlements are left without government policies on many levels other nearby informal settlements in adequate ECD centres, funding, and The South African Department of an attempt to reach children that are recognize the importance of ECD, resources (, 2006). there is currently no standardised (GXFDWLRQ GHILQHV (&' DV ³DQ XP unable to attend a formal ECD centre. brella term which applies to the pro- system for supporting ECD pro- One such settlement is Monwabisi The most common ECD outreach cesses by which children from birth Park, an informal settlement located practices rely heavily on outreach grammes throughout the country. to nine years grow and thrive, physi- in the of on the workers having direct contact with Much of this burden has fallen on cally, mentally, emotionally, morally outskirts of Cape Town. The total children and/or parents. Some cur- under-resourced Non-Governmental DQGVRFLDOO\´ 7KH'HSDUWPHQWRI(G number of people staying in Monwa- rent practices include parent empow- 2UJDQL]DWLRQV 1*2¶V   ([WHQGLQJ ucation of the Republic of South Afri- bisi Park is approximately 25,000, erment, playgroups, and home visit- ECD opportunities to children in in- ca, 1 May 2010). According to the making it one of the fastest growing ing. Parent empowerment includes informal settlements in Khayelitsha lending supplies to parents and out- (Violence Prevention through Urban reach workers meeting with them one Upgrading, 2009). Monwabisi Park -on-one. Playgroups involve out- has a young age population profile, as reach workers working with small the majority of the population is groups of children to provide them younger than 30. (Violence Preven- with the opportunities to develop. tion through Urban Upgrading, Through home visiting programmes, 2010). There are currently eight outreach workers visit families in crèches, or preschools, located within their individual homes on a regular the informal settlement but only a basis to do activities such as count- small percentage of children attend ing, songs, games, puzzles and blocks these ECD centres. In a recent survey to foster their development. Sikhula by Violence Protection through Ur- Sonke, one of our team sponsors, has ban Upgrading (VPUU), it was deter- developed a home visiting program mined there are currently 2,700 chil- from their office in Khayelitsha. dren between the ages of zero and six 6LNKXOD6RQNH¶VRXWUHDFKSURJUDPPH living in Monwabisi Park. Of these has had great results with individual 2,700, only 43% receive any type of children, but currently only reaches formal ECD, leaving a majority of 20 families. Since these programmes children without formal ECD ser- depend heavily upon one-on-one in-

ECD Pg. 1 teractions with the outreach workers, beam, stage and hopscotch. Others Stage Introduction to ECD in -Home and Centre-based ECD observations they are expensive to use on a large will be geared towards adult commu- 1 Monwabisi Park scale. nity members such as improved taps, wash basins and clothes lines to at- -Meetings with ECD organizations in Cape To provide ECD to a large number of Stage Gain a broader understand- tract parent involvement within the Town children in Monwabisi Park, the city 2 ing of ECD in South Africa childhood development process. Be- -Review of Policies agency, Violence Protection through yond the physical aspects, there will Urban Upgrading (VPUU) and Sikhu- be several social community initia- -Ideas for outreach programme elements la Sonke have developed a unique tives to ensure the usage and care of Conceptualize and Design an -Ideas for Emthonjeni design components and innovative ECD outreach pro- Stage these sites. These initiatives include Emthonjeni Outreach Pro- gramme. This programme is part of 3 -Pilot site observations consultation with the neighbouring gramme WKH9388¶V,QIRUPDO6HWWOHPHQW8S homes, providing incentives for fami- -Draft of Proposals grading Programme (ISUP) which lies to watch over the children at the aims to create a network of safe paths Stage -Presentation with key ECD stakeholders site, as well as creating a public ECD Feedback and Revision and community spaces as well as im- monitoring scheme to create a posi- 4 -Finalization of Proposals proved infrastructure throughout the tive sense of change within the com- settlement. In this plan, ECD would Figure 1: Four Stage Project Plan munity. be implemented at public spaces METHODOLOGY REFINE OBJECTIVES AND WORKING called Emthonjeni sites. In Xhosa, The Emthonjeni concept provides a MISSION AND OBJECTIVES PROCEDURES Emthonjeni is a common name for a new and innovative approach to ad- community gathering place particu- ministering ECD on a larger scale. It The goal of this project was to sup- With our project sponsors, we devel- larly around a water source. builds ECD components into the ex- port Early Childhood Development in oped a four stage process to guide our Emthonjeni sites will be located isting surroundings while still creat- Monwabisi Park through document- team in reaching our objectives (see around what is expected to be im- ing a community-gathering place. ing current conditions and develop- Figure 1). proved water taps. The improved tap Through encouraging community ing an Emthonjeni Programme. The CENTRE BASED ECD PRACTICES will include a foot pedal and a drain- involvement and participation it plac- project was broken down into the age grate to eliminate community es the education of children in the following objectives: To understand current centre-based PHPEHUV¶H[SRVXUHWRKDUPIXOEDFWH FRPPXQLW\¶V KDQGV DQG SURPRWHV D ECD practices, we visited each of the ria. For details on the improved tap, community that values learning. iWork with project partners and key eight crèches in Monwabisi Park. At please refer to Worcester Polytechnic Community members that live near stakeholders to refine objectives and each crèche, we observed the facilities ,QVWLWXWH¶V  :DWHU DQG 6DQLWD the Emthonjeni site will provide con- working procedures and interacted with children as well as conducted interviews with the tion Cape Town group project. This stant adult presence around the taps iIdentify current centre-based and crèche principals and instructors. allows for both safety and health im- ensuring the Emthonjeni site are safe home-based ECD practices provements to be established within for children at all times. Most of the interviews were conduct- the ISUP. iDetermine the needs for further ed in Xhosa with translations done by ECD programmes in Monwabisi Park our co-researchers and Mdebuka These Emthonjeni sites are intended 0WKZD]L 6LNKXOD 6RQNH¶V 3UR to create a safe, interactive learning and the services that are required to fulfil these needs gramme Manager. In these inter- environment built into the urban views, we collected information such landscape. The sites will contain iDesign an Emthonjeni Pilot site as the number of students, how much physical components that can provide EDVHGRQWKH9388¶V,QIRUPDO6HWWOH it costs to attend the crèche, and what developmental opportunities to chil- ment Upgrading Programme concerns crèche principals had in dren with and without the use of out- running their crèches. This helped us reach practitioners. Some physical iDesign an Emthonjeni Programme gain a better understanding of the elements will be geared towards stim- that can be replicated in other com- ECD being administered in formal ulating children such as a balance munities ECD centres.

ECD Pg. 2 HOME BASED ECD PRACTICES EMTHONJENI PROGRAMME AND RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ECD IN HOMES PILOT SITE We visited several families whose COMMUNITY OBSERVATION iChildren often received less stimu- children were currently not attending After reviewing all of the observa- lation in homes because their parents a crèche. At each shack, we inter- tions we made in Monwabisi Park, did not have access to materials such viewed the guardian in Xhosa with refining the ideas of our sponsors, as toys and books. the help of our co-researchers and and considering the input from other iParents were most concerned about Mdebuka. We asked parents why ECD organizations, we developed a the safety of their children, as they their children were not attending a vision for an Emthonjeni outreach could not complete all their necessary crèche and if the children were had programme. We also designed a pilot daily chores while still looking after opportunities to play with any toys Emthonjeni site that would fit into their children. and books. We also observed home- designs the VPUU is developing for a iNone of the families we visited had based outreach work in Enkanini, pilot strip in C section. We created a access to any type of ECD outreach another informal settlement in Khay- digital model using Computer Aided programme to supplement the care elitsha, with the Family and Commu- Design (CAD) as well as a three di- they provided in their own homes. nity Motivators from Sikhula Sonke. mensional physical model of the ex- The main concern of key stakeholders This improved our understanding of isting site based upon measurements and community members throughout ECD IN CRÈCHES what type of stimulation children we made at the actual tap location. Monwabisi Park was providing ECD were getting at home and would later iCrèches are the main source of to children who are not currently in help us broaden our understanding of stimulation for children in Monwabi- crèches. Crèche owners want to how children can be stimulated out- si Park. reach out to families whose children side of an ECD centre. iCrèches provided children with re- are not attending a crèche, but they sources such as toys, books, and daily HLWKHUGRQ¶WNQRZKRZWRGRVRRUGR NEEDS FOR ECD regimented programmes. not have the needed resources. The community expressed a desire for a With the help of Sikhula Sonke, we iDaily programmes include activities programme that would help provide led a discussion about community such as meal time, nap time, and every child with access to the proper awareness regarding ECD with the learning how to use the bathroom. stimulation needed for development. Monwabisi Park ECD forum. The iSome crèches also included English ECD forum consists of crèche owners in their programme to introduce the OUTREACH PROGRAMME and representatives from the Safe language at a young age. In working towards designing an out- Node Area Committee (SNAC), a lo- We presented our ideas for the over- iThe most common concerns of reach programme for Monwabisi cal leadership group that works with all Emthonjeni outreach programme crèche owners were a need for more Park, we explored many different op- the VPUU on community redevelop- as well as our pilot Emthonjeni site to physical space as well as for a larger tions for what programmes would ment. . The goal of this meeting was a group of stakeholders including number of staff. benefit the community the most. One to start a conversation about out- representatives from Sikhula Sonke, such option was to adapt the existing reach between the ECD stakeholders the VPUU, the Department of Social outreach programmes to fit into the and the community of Monwabisi Development, the Department of Ed- redevelopment plans of the VPUU in Park. In addition to our observa- ucation, and the Monwabisi Park Monwabisi Park. We found that tions, we analysed three surveys ECD forum. We made revisions to home-visiting programmes such as about ECD in Khayelitsha and Mon- our ideas based upon feedback given 6LNKXOD 6RQNH¶V )DPLO\ &RPPXQLW\ wabisi Park. The data from the three at this presentation and compiled Motivators programme are very effec- surveys was compared with our ob- them into a detailed proposal for our tive, but are too expensive when im- servation from Monwabisi Park to sponsors, as well as a funding pro- plemented on a larger scale. Parent produce a well-rounded picture of posal for potential donors. empowerment and playgroup style available ECD in the settlement.

ECD Pg. 3 outreach can be incorporated into an Sikhula Sonke. This proposal, which outreach programme, but would not can be viewed on our website, dis- serve our purposes as stand-alone cusses in detail all necessary compo- programmes. After consulting with nents of the Emthonjeni Outreach representatives from the Centre for Programme. Within this document, Early Childhood Development our group makes several recommen- (CECD) and Early Learning Resource dations: Unit (ELRU), we found that incorpo- rating other programmatic elements iThe creation of a network between into a network of Emthonjeni sites all proposed Emthonjeni sites within would provide the most well-rounded the redevelopment plan from the programme. The Emthonjeni pro- VPUU. gramme is a cost effective option for iWithin the proposed network, each an outreach programme that fits into site is designed to fit together with WKH 9388¶V VSDWLDO UHGHYHORSPHQW the surrounding sights to create one plans. The hope is that this pro- coherent network. Each outreach gramme will be easily replicated on a component as well as the equipment larger scale due to the abundance of in each site fit together to provide taps located throughout Monwabisi well-rounded set of physical and edu- Park. The central locations of the cational activities to the children of taps allow the ECD outreach pro- Monwabisi Park. gramme to be accessible to all com- i Our Emthonjeni ideas are a start- munity members. The potential of ing point for other contributors to PILOT EMTHONJENI SITE The Emthonjeni Proposal outlines this programme lies in the high level consider and expand upon. DESIGN several designs that we have pro- of community involvement and the iEach Emthonjeni site should ad- duced for this pilot site. Our recom- Our group was tasked to design one feeling of ownership of the dress all areas of development. mendations for this particular site are specific Emthonjeni site. This pilot Emthonjeni sites. iThese Emthonjeni sites are not de- as follows. site is located around a tap in C Sec- signed as a replacement to ECD cen- tion of Monwabisi Park and is fea- iThe immediate neighbours of this tres, but as a complement to all ECD WXUHGLQWKH9388¶V,683 site must be consulted as to the de- centres. sign of the Emthonjeni. This is to iA survey should be conducted to ensure usage and ownership over the determine the amount of funding site from within the community. currently going towards ECD in Mon- wabisi Park. iWe recommend that the pilot site iA financial model should be devel- contains at least the following com- oped from the funding analysis that ponents: archways, benches, commu- we began. nity clothesline, chalkboard and iMonitoring and Evaluation must be shade. A more detailed list of sug- RECOMMENDATIONS completed in a manner which evalu- gested elements is provided in our OVERALL EMTHONJENI PRO- ates the effectiveness and impact of proposal. GRAMME the programme while fostering com- iEach site should contain an im- munity ownership pride in the devel- The recommendations below are tak- proved tap, drainage, and a wash ba- opment of each child as wells as the VLQWRGHFUHDVHFKLOGUHQ¶VH[SRVXUHWR en from the Emthonjeni Proposal entire programme. which we prepared for the VPUU and contaminated water.

ECD Pg. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS —”‰”‘—’™‘—Ž†Ž‹‡–‘‡š–‡†ƒ•’‡ ‹ƒŽ–Šƒ›‘—–‘‘—”•’‘•‘”‹‰ ‘”‰ƒ‹œƒ–‹‘•Ǥ‹–Š‘—––Š‡‹” ‘–”‹„—–‹‘•ƒ†‰—‹†ƒ ‡ǡ‘—”’”‘Œ‡ – ™‘—Ž†‘–Šƒ˜‡„‡‡’‘••‹„Ž‡Ǥ’‡ ‹ϐ‹ ƒŽŽ›ǡ™‡™‘—Ž†Ž‹‡–‘–Šƒ–Š‡ ˆ‘ŽŽ‘™‹‰’‡‘’Ž‡Ǥ

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REFERENCES

City of Cape Town. (2006). Draft- City of Cape Town ECD Policy. Unpublished manuscript.

The Department of Education of the Republic of South Africa. (1 May 2010). Education White Paper 5 on Early Childhood Education: Meeting the

Challenges of Early Childhood Development in South Africa Pretoria:

Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading. (2009). Monwabisi Park In-situ Upgrade Baseline Survey. Unpublished manuscript.

Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading. (2010). Project Proposal: Segment 3 of NMCF Sakha Ikusasa 111 Strategy

ECD Pg. 5