STELLENBOSCH – With her fluent and rhythmic strides and unique style of competing barefooted, she was once a familiar figure on athletics tracks across the world.

But these days former South African middle-distance athlete Zola Budd-Pieterse is no longer just focused on crossing the finish line; instead she has her eyes firmly set on building solid foundations to help young children develop to their full potential.

Through the Zola Budd Foundation, which was established more than a year ago, the Olympian and a board of like-minded professionals are focusing on supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and early childhood development (ECD) centres to bolster children’s development for the first 1 000 days of their lives.

“The first 1 000 days are one of the important periods of a child’s life, from the first day in vetro, because so much development takes place during this time,” Budd-Pieterse explains.

“The foundation aims to give parents, caregivers and educators the support they need to ensure that children are given the best foundation possible.”

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Educating the educator

When the Stellenbosch-based foundation’s team met, they realised they have the same ambitions of making a difference in communities and that they need to hone into a specific focus area to get the ball rolling.

“We are placing the emphasis on ECD, because this education sector is often neglected. We want to start by educating the parents and the educators,” Budd-Pieterse relates.

Through research and studies, the team learnt that many of the teachers in classrooms of ECD centres in and around Stellenbosch do not have a tertiary qualification.

Further enquiries among those in the sector showed that more than 70 teachers in the greater Stellenbosch area are interested in furthering their studies to glean a qualification.

“These teachers are the ones who set the foundation for our children,” Budd-Pieterse points out.

“Unfortunately, many of the ECD centres have no set education programmes. Instead, it is focused on keeping children safe and busy. Through the programme, we hope to provide teachers with qualifications so that they may bring more structured learning to the classroom.”

Sowing seeds for future growth

The foundation has now set its sights on fundraising and developing the programme, which will aim to create sustainable, measurable ECD support in Stellenbosch communities. It aims to expand to other parts of the country in future.

The focus is now on raising the funds to aid the teachers in registering for the relevant NQF 4 or 5 course through Boland College. The online course amounts to around R17 000 per person, with the hopes that the beneficiaries will be able to register to start studying in June next year.

“The amount raised will ultimately determine how many teachers will be able to register to further their studies,” Budd-Pieterse says.

“We have already reached out to a number of possible sponsors and are prepared to walk the streets in our efforts to get the financial backing. “

The foundation hopes to have a cohort of 30 teachers enroll and register for further studies next year.

Budd-Pieterse is adament the change will not be overhauled overnight. “We call on potential sponsors to get in contact with us. Investing time and money in this programme is planting seeds for the future of our children, the next generations,” she says.

“We may not see the immediate impact now; that may take a while, but it is an unselfish investment that will ensure healthy future generations.”

• To get involved or find out more about sponsorship, visit zolabuddfoundation.com or contact Budd-Pieterse via email on zolab@zolabuddfoundation.com.

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