Programmes and Projects

Our programmes and projects include the following:

• Book-sharing for Families
• Book-sharing for Fathers
• Book-sharing for ECD Centre classrooms
• Western Cape Department of Health’s First Thousand Days programme
• Book-sharing with the Western Cape Libraries’ services
• Book-sharing with fathers in the formal workplace
• Nurturing Families Centre
• Social work services
• Parentline SA

The Mikhulu Child Development Trust’s first programme was the “Book-sharing for Families”. Through this programme, community-based organisations bring book-sharing to families of young children*. The programme is made up of weekly sessions, running for anything between 4 to 8 weeks. There are three programmes depending on the ages of children:

• Book-sharing for Babies, for families of children aged 1 – 2,
• Book-sharing for Toddlers, for families of children aged 2 – 3 and
• Book-sharing for Young Children, for families of children aged 3 – 5.

If you would like help selecting which programme is best suited for your work, email us at info@mikhulutrust.org.

*”Parent” can refer to any caregiver providing regular care for a young child.

Book-sharing for Families is a very special programme – but we noticed that there were not many fathers* joining the programme. We decided to adapt the programme to be more attractive for fathers. We are doing this as part of a research study on fatherhood that was started in August 2021.

This study is being conducted with 70 fathers of children aged 1 – 2 in Gugulethu, a suburb of Cape Town. The purpose of the research study is to:

1. Identify the best ways to adapt the programme that will help attract more fathers,
2. Test the newly adapted programme for both child and father outcomes and
3. Deliver the programme to CBO partners.

Through this research, we will be testing:

• Fathers’ interests in participating in a programme with their young children, and where fathers participate,
• Children’s education outcomes,
• Children’s risk factors for later violence (read here about how children’s early life experiences impact their later violence outcomes) and
• Father outcomes on parental sensitivity and reciprocity.

* “Father” means biological or social fathers who are in regular contact with the young child they are parenting.

In 2018, Mikhulu Trust adapted the “Book-sharing for Families” programme for use in ECD centres or play groups. Through “Book-sharing for classrooms”, organisations can train their ECD teachers or play group facilitators to use book-sharing with the groups of children in their care.

“Book-sharing for ECD classrooms” was evaluated in a research study in Namibia in 2020, where the programme was delivered to ECD teachers. The teachers used book-sharing in their classes, and we conducted a few assessments:

• Teachers’ book-sharing skills
• Children’s language development
• Children’s ability to pay attention
• Children’s behaviour with books

A summary of the research results can be accessed here.

We want to reach as many parents as we can with the book-sharing programme. We have been working closely with provincial government departments in the Western Cape to integrate book-sharing into mainstream services already serving families.

We started this by integrating book-sharing into:

• Western Cape Department of Health’s First Thousand Days programme and
• Western Cape Libraries’ services.

We have also created pathways for parents to connect through clinics and libraries, so that the book-sharing services reinforce and support each other.

This is a 3-year project, and over the three years we intend to expand to other spheres of government services as well.

Parents need ongoing support in their parenting journey on a range of different topics. Parentline SA is an easily accessible WhatsApp support service, providing parents with instant access to expert advice and guidance on various parenting scenarios and common challenges. By saving the Parentline SA number (087 813 4290) to one’s phone and simply typing “hi”, parents are immediately connected to the chatbot service which promotes positive parent-child relationships through light-touch support and valuable parenting resources. Additionally, the service offers referrals to in-person services using postal codes to ensure that parents can access local support when necessary.

The chatbot is designed to be light on data usage and is entirely text-based for accessibility to data-sensitive users. It is also able to be used not only on smartphones but on feature-rich phones as well.

Since its launch in June 2024, the Parentline SA user base has comprised of mothers, fathers, and caregivers, with the strongest interest from mothers. The service caters to a wide range of parenting needs, with children’s ages varying from newborns to six-year-olds.

The support line, established by the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN), provides parents with a wealth of information and expertise. The focus is on fostering positive parent-child relationships and promoting a positive approach to parenting.

Mikhulu Trust is developing five new wordless picture books. The new wordless books address factors that influence violence, and are intended to enable parents and. caregivers to engage with young children on issues that cause or prevent violent behaviour.

Once completed, these books will be integrated into our book-sharing programmes to help families facilitate conversations around factors that lead to violence, including violence in the home and against women and children.

We have already completed the first two books:

This book shows different ways in which families can organise their lives. It can provide many points for discussion about family life, about which members do which kinds of domestic task, and how they each experience how things are done. It offers the chance to think about how there might be different arrangements from the ‘traditional’ one, about ‘fairness’ in the way a family behaves, and about the benefits of sharing responsibilities and caring for each other, and the enjoyment that this can bring.

This book is about the resolution of conflict between children. It shows an instance of bullying and how this can be dealt with well by adults – not by aggressive discipline, but by firm and supportive negotiation. The book presents an opportunity for an adult and child to discuss children’s conflicts and how they can be resolved well.

You can view samples of all our books here.