Jennifer

Prudence Pietersen hails from the small, remote Karoo town of Murraysburg in the Western Cape. She has been living in Cape Town since 2008 and took the role of Programmes Coordinator at the Mikhulu Trust in January 2023. While her background lies in sports management, she felt led to apply for the position at the Mikhulu Trust due to her passion for doing meaningful work. With strong communication skills, Prudence is fluent in three languages: English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. In April 2023, she completed her training to become a Master Trainer in the book-sharing programme and is loving every minute. [...]

Violence is woven into daily reality for many South Africans. The roots of this violence reach into complex spheres of historic oppression and ongoing inequalities – and addressing it today requires equally complex and multifaceted solutions. On top of the human and social costs of such violence, the economic consequences are also significant. Addressing violence in South Africa is necessary to improve our social future: but it has the potential to improve our economic future and development, too. Rolling out evidence-based intervention programmes that are cheap and easy to scale up is vital – and it starts with preventative programmes at [...]

“Although the Mikhulu Trust book-sharing is just a drop in the ocean with the numbers we reach, it’s actually a big thing that can change a lot as far as the community is concerned. Here, we talk about a culture that is instilled in our mind – the manner in which we are brought up – and we did not see anything wrong with it until we came across the Mikhulu Trust.” These are the words of Mr Bongi Mgquba, facilitator at the Men’s Fellowship in Kraaifontein, a faith-based organisation which runs under the banner of the Presbyterian Church. While the [...]

Community Health Workers are healthcare providers who live in the communities in which they operate. Falling under the Department of Health, they work closely with the clinics and hospitals in their service areas and play a valuable role in our health system as well as providing essential psycho-social support. Community Health Workers are trained to respond to the health needs of the community, providing essential ECD support to mothers in their homes. Community Health Workers Supporting Mothers in the Home The Mikhulu Child Development Trust is playing a key role in enriching the Western Cape Department of Health’s First [...]

Over the last two years, the Mikhulu Child Development Trust has focused on supporting fathers to be more active and engaged in their children’s lives. We have partnered with community-based organisations that work with fathers, training facilitators to run group book-sharing courses with men across the Western Cape Province. We take a look at how this aspect of Mikhulu’s work has grown and ask some of these community-based organisations how the programme has impacted them. Training facilitators in Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Delft and Mfuleni Following research on fatherhood ー a project that involved Mikhulu Trust, UCT and Sonke Gender [...]

Being a father can be tricky. A new project in Gugulethu is trying to support fathers to spend more time with their children. Sharing picture-books together is a great way for dads to connect with their children. Every month, at the Men’s Clinic next to Gugulethu Mall, a group of fathers come together to learn about book-sharing. Staff from two non-profit organizations (Sonke Gender Justice and Mikhulu Trust) help them. Book-sharing is about using a picture-book to start a conversation with your child. You can sit together and go through the book together. It does not matter what language you [...]

Addressing gender inequalities in South African families through a new picture-book

Through her daily work as a Early Childhood Development (ECD) mentor, Davine September has always been aware of the positive impacts book-sharing had on others. One weekend, whilst visiting her aunt, Davine’s life changed forever: she met a child that she would later adopt. And Davine began to see the powerful impact of book-sharing first hand - with her newly adopted daughter. Book-sharing from an outside perspective Davine works for Inceba Trust, an NPO based in the Winelands. Davine supervises nineteen ECD centres in Franschhoek. Initially she was trained as a book-sharing facilitator and is now a book-sharing coach. [...]