When I first joined Mikhulu Trust, I admired and respected the organisation for their focus and interest in delivering evidence-based interventions. Now, and throughout the pandemic period, my motivation and love for our work comes from our impact on parents and caregivers who spend their days at home with their young children, and who now feel supported to develop loving and stimulating relationships with them.
At Mikhulu Trust, we truly believe that all parents and caregivers, regardless of their education or income level, can be their children’s first and best teachers.
At Mikhulu Trust, we truly believe that all parents and caregivers, regardless of their education or income level, can be their children’s first and best teachers. This is one of the narratives that we believe is missing in South Africa’s ECD sector.
ECD centres and their workforces have been fighting a long and tough battle to get sufficient government support for the care and stimulation they provide to children at their most critical life stages. The small wins over the decades still leave large gaps, but through this hard struggle, we have forgotten the voices of the parents or caregivers of these young children. I believe that our work fills this critical gap.
There is lots to be said about our organisational struggle during the pandemic. We certainly did not come out unscathed. But we recognise the larger struggle of parents and young children, and we are set on driving their agenda forward. All the decisions and changes we have made throughout the year were with this vision in mind: that “all parents are supported to develop positive, nurturing, and stimulating relationships with their young children”.
We are more motivated now than ever before to advocate for the celebration and elevation of the role of the parent and caregiver. For the year ahead, we intend to use our work with partners, government, and other networks to drive this forward.
Kaathima Ebrahim
Chief Executive Officer
