Yet many still do not have access to the quality early learning opportunities they need to thrive. South Africa is home to over five million children under the age of five years old, yet more than 1.4 million of them are missing out on the essential foundation they need to succeed, quality early learning. Nearly half of them live in communities where there simply aren’t enough quality early learning centres. Without this solid foundation, these children enter school already behind, struggling to catch up with their peers and often never catch up during school years.

But, with your help, we can change this. ECD practitioners are changing this every day while creating a career as an ECD practitioner and generating an income from running ECD centres.

Whether you want to start your own programme, running an existing ECD centre and looking for tools to strengthen your work, SmartStart can help you access practical training, curriculum resources, Bana Pele registration support and a network of people committed to giving children the strongest possible start in life.