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Ncedulunthu Pre-School, South Africa
The Need.
Prior to the implementation of our project in 2013, the Ncedulunthu Educare Pre-School consisted of a tiny shack - added on to the back of the teacher's small home. Located in the Mfuleni Township in Western Cape, South Africa, the community is overwhelmed by crime and is a very unsafe environment for children. With great dedication and commitment, Mama Nozukile and her two assistants spent their days caring for and safeguarding 60 young children under the school's sagging, leaking, tin roof. The children shared one washbasin, and waited up to an hour in line, often standing in the rain and mud, to use the single toilet.
Unlike our schools in Kenya and Ghana, our South African Township schools serve multiple purposes. The children range from babies in diapers to 6 years old. Many spend their entire day at school, napping, eating and learning as they lack adult supervision at home.
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Tending to these students while barely able to cover the costs required to run the school, Mama Nozukile was desperate to obtain assistance to provide a safe space for her students.
Working with our partner, Ikamva Labantu, a community forum selected Mama Nozukile as the recipient of our project in recognition of her dedication and commitment to her school.
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Additional Projects and Support.
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2014 ​​We provided $6,100 for:​
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A year of formal teacher training for Mama Nozukhile and an assistant so that they would be better able to work effectively with the children, assist in their development, and provide them with a productive learning environment.
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60 new mattresses and blankets
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Fire extinquishers
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A complete set of educational materials and toys
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Additional supplies
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2019 We provided $5,900 for:
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Educational Resources
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Tiling of the two classrooms
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Children’s chairs
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New mattresses
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Formal teacher training (includes a pack of educational resources and toys) for 2 school staff:
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10 month, intensive, hands-on training includes four learning sessions per month comprising theoretical and mentoring sessions as well as in-person teacher training at the practitioners’ classrooms.​​
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2021: Gary's Fund provided $6300 in response to the impact of the COVID crisis for:
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Food parcels for 11 months for Ncedulunthu and Masizakhle pre-schools. (Donation covered costs for both schools). Parcels contained 22 pounds each of rice, soya and maize meal delivered to the schools each month. .
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Total cost was only $60/child/11 month period.​
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2022: $2,500 provided for:
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Formal teacher training
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10 month, intensive, hands-on training for 1 school staff member. Same training as described above under 2019 donation.
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The Project.
Gary’s Fund partnered with Ikamva Labantu in 2013 to bring the existing Ncedulunthu Educare pre-school beyond minimum standards required to be registered with a local government agency. This would make it eligible to receive badly needed government subsidies.
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Our donation of $14,600 funded:
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A new roof, ceiling and gutters
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Two latrines and three wash basins.
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New doors
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Additional exterior concrete foundations and roofing to provide a sheltered area for the children to play and wait for the latrines.
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Complete set of educational materials, replacement blankets, mattresses, fire extinguishers and other essential, badly needed supplies.
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A year of formal training for Mama Nozukile, and one of her assistants
Upon completion of this project the school received approval from the Department of Fire and Rescue Service, an important step towards becoming eligible for government subsidies. Ncudulunthu eventually exceeded the standards required to register as a government school receiving a subsidy of $1.00/student. These much needed subsidies are not easily accessible or achievable for many preschools, so it is a testament to Mama Nozukile's dedication that she managed this process successfully.
The Community.
The Mfuleni Township is 18 miles southeast of Cape Town in South Africa. Like most of the townships in South Africa, almost half of the population is unemployed and lives without electricity or running water. Most live in shacks built by hand.

Most parents in the township travel to other locations for work and have no options for childcare. Typically even very young children are left alone to take care of one another and/or to fend for themselves in often deplorable and dangerous circumstances. Violent crime is rampant and a serious problem, especially for young children. Many children have been abandoned or orphaned and/or are living in "child headed households."


The most fortunate of Mfuleni's children are taken off the streets and are cared for during the day (and often beyond) by dedicated "mama's". These children are piled into little shacks which are haphazardly constructed and added on to the backs of the mama's homes. These dedicated woman are providing a desperately needed service to their community. Most have no experience or training in early childhood education or development.


While the mamas are certainly protecting and caring for their charges to the best of their abilities, they lack the funds to provide proper educational environments. Even under the supervision of the mama's, without further intervention, the children's prospects for acquiring an education are bleak.
The Community Contribution.
Per our local partner Ikamva Labantu, “we are seeing great improvements in the level of childcare and implementation of learning programmes in their classroom. Ncedulunthu surely is one of the model pre-schools in Mfuleni community. As you know, they have so little and are barely able to cover the running costs, so the extra boost with (the Early Childhood Development) resources (are) most valuable. Thank you for making this all happen!" Mama Nozukile (the school principal) has been described by our partner as "one of the many unsung heroes of South Africa who work quietly on the ground to uplife their communities by giving the children a better start in life.” Sadlyl, Mama Nozukile, died suddenly in 2021. Her daughter is now the principal and has jumped right into this important work taking over for her mother.
​All photos provided by Ikamva Labantu and the Moser family with the exception of the photo of Gugulenthu Township from www.goodthingsguys.com