By Ian Corbett | Chairperson of Starting Chance
2024 is a landmark year for educares in South Africa.
By year end principals must apply online to register their educares with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in order to continue to operate. There are many regulations and the process is not without its challenges. For many educares, they simply cannot afford to make the physical changes to their buildings to meet the requirements. For Starting Chance, this is one of the pillars of our support: Our Shack to chic programme.
Once schools have been in our programme for two years and have shown passion and dedication to education, we go alongside them and help them to renovate or build a school that meets DBE requirements. To date we have built or renovated 13 schools and given over 1000 children a safe and healthy learning environment.
We have been blown away by the tenacity of the principals as they hold fast to their dreams of changing the lives of children in Mfuleni.
They say real entrepreneurs never give up….if this is true South Africa’s Early Childhood sector abounds with brilliant examples of women entrepreneurs.
When this principal, in the photos below, was informed that her shack school would be demolished in 2 weeks it seemed like the end.
But undaunted she found a rental in poor condition and jumped at the opportunity.
Six weeks later, thanks to people who support Starting Chance, renovation is almost complete – disaster has turned into a real starting chance both for the principal and the children attending the school.
For the first time staff and children have a proper roof over their heads – and we have a chance to properly equip the educare.
Thanks to everyone who supports us Shining Stars is continuing to shine brightly as an excellent educare with a much-improved, healthy learning environment giving the children attending their starting chance too!
We have schools waiting for our support. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help! Please consider joining us in changing the learning environment for the children in our programme. Their lives will change forever.
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