• The partnership improves mobility and helps essential resources reach children in marginalised communities

• Over 1,2 million children have benefited from VWGA’s partnership with various Early Childhood Development centres

Kariega – Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has strengthened its commitment to early childhood development by extending a vehicle support agreement with the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) and Ntataise. The partnership enables early childhood development trainers and mentors to travel to remote, underserved Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres and provide practical, face-to-face support.

The educators receive training, mentorship and learning materials through this on-site coaching, that help them implement effective teaching interventions and improve early learning outcomes.

The partnership was established in 2008, and since then, CECD and Ntataise have worked with other ECD organisations across different provinces within South Africa, significantly expanding the programme’s reach and impact.

“Across South Africa, thousands of young children, particularly in poor, rural, and peri-urban areas, continue to face barriers in accessing quality ECD services. Yet, the early years of a child's life are the most critical for cognitive, emotional, and social development. Quality ECD lays the foundation for lifelong learning, well-being, and economic productivity, and is one of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty and reduce inequality,” said Jessica Blom, Deputy Director of CECD.

“The eight Vivos play a vital enabling role in reaching underserved areas. Reliable transport allows our teams to deliver training, mentorship, learning materials and support directly to ECD centres, many of which are located 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,” said Blom.

“The vehicle enables us to provide the essential face-to-face, role-modelled support that equips practitioners with practical teaching skills across two districts in Free State and four in North West. Without this mobility, reaching and supporting these communities would be impossible,” added Puleng Motsoeneng, Director of Ntataise.

Over the past 18 years, the partnership has impacted 285 149 ECD professionals and over 1,2 million children in underserved communities across South Africa, ensuring ECDs receive the support they need in their work and reinforcing VWGA’s commitment and investment to early childhood development.

“Education remains one of the key pillars of Volkswagen Group Africa’s CSI commitment, and our partnership with CECD and Ntataise is an important part of this journey. By extending this partnership, we are helping trainers and mentors to reach communities and provide the support needed to strengthen early learning,” said Nonkqubela Maliza, Corporate and Government Affairs Director at Volkswagen Group Africa.

“This initiative allows us to extend the reach of our CSI programmes beyond Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, into other communities across South Africa. We believe that investing in early childhood development is an investment in the future of our country, and we are proud to play a role in creating better opportunities for children from their earliest years.”

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