iThemba School

HOPE FOR CHILDREN FROM UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES IN THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

Our Vision

iThemba means ‘hope’. Our vision is for children from under-resourced communities in the Southern Peninsula of Cape Town to be provided with the best possible intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual foundation for further education – giving them hope for their future.

Our mission is therefore to:
 provide high quality pre-primary education
ensure balanced nutrition and health monitoring
maintain a safe and nurturing environment
teach and model the good news of Jesus Christ

The aim of iThemba is to work with parents and caregivers to prepare young children for school and life. We do this in partnership with the broader community by building relationships which seek to provide the best care for children now, and to pursue opportunities for further education.

The vision is for iThemba School to grow into a donor-based primary school. We recently gained access to land which is within walking distance from the Masi community and have started the process of developing it into a primary school.

The Opportunity

Fish Hoek valley is a small microcosm of South Africa. There are a number of upper and middle-class suburbs alongside two communities with a critical lack of resources and high unemployment levels. These are Masiphumelele and Ocean View. Education levels in these communities are seriously inadequate. Economic research indicates that early childhood development is key to changing this. A study by a local NGO (Masicorp) into pre-school education in Masiphumelele shows a desperate lack in adequate ECD infrastructure:

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“Inadequate nutrition, a lack of early stimulation, learning, and nurturing care, and exposure to stress adversely affect young children's development.

Investing in the early years is one of the smartest things a country can do to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and create the human capital needed for economies to diversify and grow. Early childhood experiences have a profound impact on brain development—affecting learning, health, behaviour and ultimately, income.”

- World Bank Website on ECD (2017)