Thanks to corporate funder Remgro, Stellenbosch-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bergzicht Training & Development held a certificate ceremony at the Legacy Centre in Kayamandi on Thursday, 23 June to celebrate the completion of its first Community Child Care programme,
The four-day programme, presented over four weeks, made its debut in 2021, offering enhanced skills training for home-based child care in Cloetesville. This year the Kayamandi-based workshop recently empowered 18 women on the soil of their own community.
With Bergzicht’s growing focus on development, this short series of workshops includes practical training for early childhood development, such as creativity and stimulating educational activities.
The workshop programme is run in addition to a certified 13-week child-care programme, and is aimed at participants’ employability and roles such as a crèche assistant.
“The workshops have been so helpful,” said certified trainee and mother-of-two-boys Babalwa Dalicuba. “Some of us have kids at home, but we don’t know how to teach them. Now I also know how to help my kids.” She is also planning to start her own crèche to help other children.
Fellow participant Tessa May added that the experience has been “very valuable” to her, learning to engage her child with exciting activities instead of “doing nothing”.
The creativity lessons in painting, cutting and singing songs was clearly a group favourite.
Child-care facilitator and former primary school vice-principal Hillary Wentzel explained the workshops enable parents to aid their children for school readiness. She said: “It is important to make skills and affordable solutions accessible to adults so the little ones are helped from a young age, rather than being on the streets.”
Social worker Nathalie Skippers, Student Development Manager at Bergzicht, encouraged the certificate recipients, thanking them for their commitment and vibrant energy. She expressed gratitude to local representative Mama Phatiswa, who assisted in organising the first Kayamandi-based workshop.
Cheryl Farao, Remgro Community Projects Manager, motivated the students on their road ahead to not be discouraged by setbacks, saying “there are always opportunities.”
She applauded Bergzicht for creating “opportunities through the training courses for students to get a qualification so that they can make a meaningful contribution to their households.
“Investment management company Remgro believes in empowering the community through education. Bergzicht’s comprehensive Child Care programme covers topics such as child development (with a focus on babies from new born stage until the age of three months), meal preparation, child abuse intervention and discipline, as well as certified First Aid training. The next Community Child Care workshop will take place in Jamestown later this year.”
For more information about workshops and training, contact Skippers at employ@bergzicht.org.za
