Philani: establishing preschools in South Africa to give hundreds of rural children access to education

SRT grantee The Philani Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition Trust is a community-based NGO that has been addressing maternal, child health and nutrition problems in the informal settlements surrounding Cape Town since 1979.

In the last couple of years Philani has established 11 new preschools in the rural Eastern Cape as part of their Educare Programme. This has provided more than 250 rural children access to preschool education. The Educare programme consists of 17 classes in the Western Cape along with the 11 new schools in the Eastern Cape. Teachers now provide more than 840 children with quality preschool education, as well as breakfast and lunch daily.

Philani also implemented a new reporting system in the Eastern Cape in 2023, via the Teampact app allowing for easier reporting and collection of data. Team leaders report daily on all visits and cases as well as children’s attendance to the Educare programme, improving monitoring, evaluation and accountability.

Finally, Philani has more than 200 ‘mentor mothers’ who deliver home based health services daily to otherwise isolated homes with inaccessible health facilities in rural and semiurban South Africa. To support this effort, Philani has recently become an accredited training institution and has started a process of “Recognition of prior learning” with the mentor mothers, which will provide them with an accredited certified qualification.

The mentor mothers work in partnership with government health facilities, with each mentor mother responsible for the health and well-being of up to 300 households. Patients include bedridden clients, pregnant mothers, low birthweight babies, malnourished and vulnerable children, patients suffering from TB or HIV, in addition to providing palliative care, mental health and social support.

Annette Seegers, the Philani Chairperson, concluded that; “Philani is moving closer to realising its vision of a South Africa where pregnancy and childhood are safe; vulnerable families receive support; adults suffering from chronic diseases are linked to care; and children, through access to preschool education, healthcare and good nutrition, have a chance to achieve their full potential.”