ITEC

The Institute of Training and Education for Capacity-building (ITEC) envisages a child-friendly South Africa where all children are able to access opportunities for optimal development.

We believe that children have the right to live in a safe, caring, and stimulating environment, and that they deserve the care and education that will equip them for tomorrow's world.

If you would like to donate, please contact us at 043 7438333. We have Section 18A status - your donation is tax deductible.

Computer skills for Thornhill community

ITEC is working with Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm to bring computer skills to Thornhill Combined School and community. It is very important that children become familiar with information technology to equip them for the 21st Century.

To read more about this project click on this link.

Welcome, 2022!

After a refreshing break, we are full of hope and excitement about the new year.

The last two years have been difficult for everyone. The people we serve – the children, the ECD Practitioners, teachers, parents, and communities – have all been profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children have suffered through increased unemployment, illness, loss, and stress at home. Opportunities for learning have been reduced by sporadic school closures and irregular attendance. There is a lot to catch up on.

We are determined to make 2022 a year of renewal and recovery. Across all our projects, we aim to bring hope, enthusiasm, and plans for recovery, growth and development.

May you also have a blessed and hopeful 2022.

A new building for young children in Jingqi

We are so thrilled! Our partners, Reach! South Africa, have provided a container for Khamisa Day Care Centre in Jingqi, a beautiful rural area in the Eastern Cape. This is the third container that Reach! SA has funded for this community, and they plan to deliver a container a year until each of the ECD Centres we work with in Jingqi have one. Thank you! Your commitment makes such a difference to the children. (Click on the pictures to scroll through)

: Children and parents waiting outside the ‘old’ Khamisa DCC for the container to arrive. ITEC ECD facilitator, Mandindi, on the right, sits with them.

: Community members are ready to start work when the container arrives.

: It’s arrived! Jingqi is very rural, so it takes time to get there.

: The container is placed in front of the old Khamisa DCC, and work begins.

: Adding the entrance to the new building

: The inside of the container will be a welcoming space for children to play and learn

If you would like to know more about the work Reach! SA has been doing in South Africa, please read their blog about it here.

The map below shows Jingqi on the east coast of South Africa.

The ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund

The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply damaged early childhood services and programmes in South Africa. A survey by Ilifa Labantwana conducted in August 2020 found that:

42,5% of ECD jobs were lost during lockdown
93% of ECD programmes that managed to reopen are unable to cover their operating costs.

The Department of Social Development has now launched the an Employment Stimulus Relief Fund for ECD Services. ECD services may apply for once-off funds to subsidise the costs of up to four employees. The cutoff date for applicants is 19 February 2021.

World Read Aloud Day!

Being read to by a loved adult builds happy memories and reading confidence.

Start with short, fun reading sessions, and gradually make them longer as your child grows older – but always keep reading pleasant and interesting!

As they listen to you reading, children learn new words, deepen their understanding, build comprehension and general knowledge, and discover new ways of expressing their own thoughts. Reading aloud offers children opportunities to imagine things far beyond their own experiences.

As you read, take a moment to chat together about what the characters are doing, thinking, and feeling – your child’s critical thinking skills will soon strengthen! Point out examples of kindness, determination, and optimism, or discuss challenges and choices the characters are making.

As your child grows older, continue reading together, and build a warm reading relationship over time. You can continue to read aloud together long after your child reads fluently, and well into the teenage years. Reading with teens will give you opportunities to discuss some of the challenging issues they face as they grow towards adulthood.

When you read aloud, you are together exploring increasingly sophisticated connections between adventures, intrigues and emotions, both child and adult are bonded participants – and that is exceptional.