For five years, young children in Uthuli did not have access to a dedicated space where they could come together for structured learning and play. There had been an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre back in 2017, however, due to poor leadership and limited caregiver capacity, the Centre closed.

In 2023, Temwa worked with community members to understand the challenges that had led to the closure of the Centre, and what changes needed to be made to rebuild community confidence and ownership. Through open dialogue and community mobilisation, Temwa supported Uthuli community members to take collective responsibility for reviving and reopening the Centre.  

Temwa has since provided support to furnish the school, provide play and learning materials, as well as provide ‘top-up’ nutrition for the provision of daily meals to the youngsters. Temwa also provided comprehensive training for ECD caregivers, so that they had the knowledge and skills to support the children thrive and learn.  Finally, Temwa built the capacity of the newly elected committee, whose members were drawn from the local community, to run the school. 

The management committee now meets twice a month and actively oversees the day-to-day operations of the Centre. Its responsibilities include supporting caregiver incentives, maintaining the Centre infrastructure, and managing the Centre’s nutritional support. Since re-opening in 2023, 97 children aged 2 to 5 have attended the school, with 49 ‘graduating’ into the local primary school. School readiness assessments indicate that the Centre is making a huge difference – there has been a significant improvement in numeracy, literacy and social skills which is expected to help Uthuli’s children as they progress through primary school, also reducing school drop-out rates.

Now that Temwa’s direct involvement has ended, the team will continue to check in with the Centre and evaluate the longer-term impact of the Community’s ECD service on their children’s progress through formal schooling. The revival of the Uthuli ECD Centre demonstrates how sustained community engagement, strong capacity building and targeted support can restore a community’s confidence in running an effective ECD service.