Drive Campaign
10 October 2007
The MEC for Social Development in the Free State, the Honourable Ouma Tsopo
will on the Thursday, 11 October 2007 in Bethlehem Town Hall, Dihlabeng
Municipality officially launch the Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Registration Drive Campaign. This campaign is an integral part of the Social
Development Month programme as was launched by MEC Tsopo on the 1 October
2007.
On the 12 October 2007, MEC Tsopo will be proceeding to Steynsrus, Fezile
Dabi to facilitate further interaction with various stakeholders in the ECD
Sector.
The department recognises that, in the human life cycle the early childhood
development phase, from birth to six years is regarded as the most important
for every human being. It is therefore of utmost importance to do everything
possible to ensure that children are given the best starting in life.
ECD has been declared a national and a provincial priority as it is regarded
as a major developmental as well as a poverty alleviation programme in the
context of the Expanded Public Works Programme. The situation in the Free State
is that there are approximately 169 206 children under the age of six years
living in poor families. Of these children, approximately 82 000 are currently
benefiting from ECD programmes by being part of a crèche establishment, whilst
only 28 558 benefit from financial support from the Department of Social
Development.
From this information it is clear that much more could and should be done to
protect and to develop the young children in our province by way of inclusion
in the ECD programmes. The Department of Social Development has therefore
embarked on a programme to promote ECD as a very important developmental and
poverty alleviation programme.
Some of the objectives are:
* to identify all unknown ECD programmes in the Free State
* to capture register all ECD programmes in the Free State on a data base, thus
increasing the number of children benefiting from the current 82 000 to 100 000
by 2010
* to work together with all relevant stakeholders in this regard
* to promote financial support to at least 4 000 more children per annum over a
three year period
* to increase the amount for funding per child annually over the next three
years
* to train 500 primary care givers / child care practitioners over the next
three years in collaboration with the Department of Education.
All Organisations / individuals who are involved with the delivery of ECD
services / programmes to children under the age of six years are therefore
requested to come forward and to report your service / programme to the
Department of Social Development for registration on the departmental data
base. This appeal applies to all programmes, from child minders with two or
three children being cared for at a private home to a large ECD Centre, who are
not yet known or registered with the Department of Social Development.
We are embarking on this registration drive and would like to enlist the
support of all stakeholders in order to ensure that all ECD programme providers
comply with the requirements in order to give the best service to the children
of our province. As a stakeholder the department needs your support to identify
and determine the real status of all ECD services in the Free State.
Please report your service or programme to your nearest Non Governmental
Organisations delivering services to children and families or to departmental
district offices at the following telephone numbers:
Xhariep District
Tel: 053 205 0229
Jagersfontein
Tel: 051 724 0013
Smithfield
Tel: 051 683 1121
Lejweleputswa
Welkom
Tel: 057 916 8700
Fezile Dabi District
Kroonstad
Tel: 056 212 3295
Sasolburg
Tel: 016 970 9700
Thabo Mofutsantana District
Bethlehem
Tel: 058 307 7500
Phuthaditjhaba
Tel: 058 713 2945
Motheo District
ThabaâNchu
Tel: 051 873 9200
Botshabelo
Tel: 051 531 0700
Bloemfontein
Tel: 051 403 2200
All media is invited to attend and cover the event.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Mondli Mvambi
Head: Communications and Marketing
Tel: 051 400 0204/209
Cell: 083 265 2612
Fax: 051 4000 262
E-mail: mondli@socdev.fs.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Social Development, Free State Provincial
Government
10 October 2007
Source: Free State Provincial Government (http://www.fs.gov.za)
