KIDS of Tomorrow, a beneficiary of Ironman 4 the Kidz, with the support offered by sponsors, rebuilt Esinelitha Day Care Centre in Walmer Township recently.
The principal and founder of Esinelitha Day Care Centre, Joyce Mveli, said, the revamp of the crèche which was previously a shack means a lot to her.
“It means a change and a new beginning for the school and the children. The kids were dancing and singing when they saw their new classrooms,” Mveli said.
The passionate principal, who opened the school 20 years ago, said, before the revamp of the day care, each time it rained water leaked into the building and on windy days sand filled the room.
The day care centre, which has 49 kids from newborns to six-year-olds, did not have any taps or toilets on the premises.
Now they not only have taps but running water from the water tank outside and a newly built toilet.
Before the day care centre was rebuilt it had just one classroom but now it has three classrooms, a kitchen and an office for the principal.
Mveli said Esinelitha, which currently has three teachers and one volunteer, has always been a safe place for children during the day.
Belinda Wolff, founder of Kids of Tomorrow non-profit organisation, which is based in Walmer’s informal settlement, said they assisted underprivileged children with daily care, nutritional and educational needs.
“We aim at uplifting children in impoverished communities. We do this with the assistance of the public and we’ve seen some great businesses come on board too,” Wolff said.
She said she saw a great need at Esinelitha Day Care Centre, and she was touched to do something about it.
“The previous structure was poorly built from corrugated iron and simply nailed together. After numerous patchwork repairs to the roof, we thought that instead of fixing up the roof we would rebuild the whole structure,” Wolff said.
She further said even though they had completed the new structure of the crèche, she still felt as though she has not done enough for the underprivileged community.
Esinelitha was the second day care centre to be rebuilt by Kids of Tomorrow, with the first being Sikelela Pre-School and Crèche in Airport Valley last year.
The new Esinelitha Day Care Centre building was sponsored by Ironman 4 the Kidz, Ironman South Africa, Chris Howes Construction, Greyveinsteins Incorporated, Bocadillos, Twenty-Four Electrical, Hola 4, Rebecca Nyangaresi-Gangi and Paddy Cloete.
Ironman 4 the Kidz has 19 children’s charities, 11 of which are in the Eastern Cape, including Kids of Tomorrow.
