THE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The ECD project is a new project which was initiated by Topsy SA to meet the urgent developmental needs of children in their formative years. This project will encompass the physical, cognitive, social and language requirements for the very young, disadvantaged children in the Dipaseleng communities.

A cornerstone of the ECD Project is the implementation of a central educational resource library which will be distributed on a rotation basis to 18 under resourced day centres / pre-schools and to one stimulation centre for mentally and physically disabled children, all living in the impoverished Dipaleseng communities.

The resource library will provide specialised educational resources to encourage learning through play activities in order to develop numeracy, literacy and social skills. The rationale is supported by studies in Early Child Development which have shown that engagement through early learning programmes give children the best chance of breaking the poverty cycle. Children who have benefited from ECD projects have improved social and emotional behaviour, are less likely to drop out of school later in life, and have increased earning potential as adults.