The importance of education in the early stages of a child’s life has been the drive behind the Sea Harvest Foundation’s support of early childhood development (ECD) centres. Sea Harvest has continuously assisted ECD centres to lighten the financial load and make the monthly school fees more affordable for parents, whilst also ensuring that learners receive quality education. With our contribution, we aim to give parents peace of mind when they are at work that their children are in a safe and stimulating learning environment.
Grade R School: Sea Harvest with its employees and local community members began addressing the issue of ECD and how it was being affected by overcrowding in 2015. This led Sea Harvest to fund three pre-Grade R/Grade R classrooms for around 100 learners in Diazville, Saldanha Bay, in partnership with the Western Cape Education Department.
Holiday Club: In response to a request from employees to help ensure their children are not bored and tempted to engage in risky behaviour during school holidays, Sea Harvest launched a holiday club in partnership with a nonprofit organisation. The organisation caters for 100 children, providing them with at least one cooked meal per day, educational toys and caregivers.
Educational Equipment: During 2019, a special ECD project enabled the improvement of basic education and upgrades to 21 ECD centres in the Saldanha Bay Municipal area. The ECD centres were selected based on a needs analysis conducted the previous year. With the assistance of Heini van Niekerk Architects, the project also included some structural improvements to the schools that needed it most.
Covid-19 Care Kits: The Foundation – under the guidance of the local Social Development Department – procured the necessary goods for early childhood development centres to becompliant with the new Covid-19 rules. Beyond the emergency needs, we used the opportunity to improve the standards of our centres, which will make a difference to little learners for many years to come.
Infrastructure and outdoor play upgrades: The quality of ECD has an influence on holistic wellness, which has led to the Foundation continuously donating educational equipment and providing support to centres in our communities.