{"id":297642,"date":"2025-12-03T09:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T07:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/?p=297642"},"modified":"2025-12-03T09:54:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T07:54:37","slug":"the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CAPE TOWN –<\/strong> As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu \u2013 meaning \u201cThe Future of the People\u201d \u2013 is urging South Africans to invest in the very start of a child\u2019s educational journey \u2014 Early Childhood Development (ECD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that the first five years of a child\u2019s life shape their future learning, behaviour and health. Yet for many young children living in low-income communities, access to quality early learning remains out of reach. An estimated 350 000 four-year-olds \u2013 roughly 29% of children in that age group \u2013 receive no early learning at all. While around 71% of South African 4-year-olds do attend an early learning centre, too many are placed in environments without educational resources and with untrained teachers. This is especially common in township communities, where parents travel long distances to work and rarely have the income to afford a quality preschool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifelong impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the child the impact is lifelong. This also impacts on the future of South Africa. Children who miss out on proper foundational development are less likely to transition successfully through school, more likely to repeat grades, and more likely to fall into intergenerational cycles of poverty and exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address this, Cape Town non-governmental organisation, Ikamva Labantu has pioneered a practical, scalable model that improves quality at the source. The organisation\u2019s experiential training programme equips ECD principals and teachers through hands-on learning at Ikamva Labantu\u2019s model preschool. Trained community-based workers also support ECD professionals within their own classrooms to ensure the unique challenges they face in their township preschools are addressed with tailored solutions. Graduates are then supported through an ECD registration helpdesk, guiding them to meet compliance standards, and access government subsidies essential to ensure their preschool\u2019s sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A child\u2019s opportunity for education should never depend on luck or chance. Every child deserves a path \u2013 and someone to help them believe they can take it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ishrene Davids, Ikamva Labantu\u2019s director, personally understands the impact that a well-trained ECD educator can have in a child\u2019s life. Raised on the Cape Flats, after her family was forcibly removed during Apartheid, she grew up in a two-bedroom home with 11 siblings. Her father worked as a cleaner. She remembers her mother trying to cut a single apple into 12 pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davids had two forces that changed her life. Her dad, whose work ethic and consistent presence remains a guiding value in her life, and her teachers. She overheard her teachers speaking about her ability to anticipate the next word when she reads. This comment from her perceptive teacher early on in life, shifted her perception of herself and her capabilities. She understood she might have a future. Davids is the only sibling to have completed schooling and university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA child\u2019s opportunity for education should never depend on luck or chance. Every child deserves a path \u2013 and someone to help them believe they can take it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt takes a village to raise a child, and we are asking South Africans to join us in investing in a future where all children flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children truly are the future. By investing in early childhood development for children who need it most, it builds future leaders, entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Ikamva Labantu is calling on South Africans, to give a gift that supports a child’s future this festive season. Give them access to quality preschool education today: Ikamva.org.za\/donate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child’s educational journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":297643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"74","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"30","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"3","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"1","article_feature_type":"normal","article_main_image_caption":"From left are Boniswa Mercy Retyu (senior club), Joshua Meintjies (learner), Helen Lieberman (founder), Ishrene Davids (director), Dalintetho Matiwane (senior club), Yamihle Daraza (baby who attends Ikamva Labantu's preschool), Ntombozuko Katangana (ECD) practitioner.","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"The future starts with early childhood development","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"Dec10_drecd","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["Dec10_drecd_P1"],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[9039,93],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-297642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-early-childhood-development","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\nEarly Childhood Development and Its Lasting Impact | TygerBurger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TygerBurger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TygerBurger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"TygerBurger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tygerburger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tygerburger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TygerBurger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"TygerBurger\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f71e348ba4b9942416d90370345e952\"},\"headline\":\"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"early childhood development\",\"Featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/\",\"name\":\"Early Childhood Development and Its Lasting Impact | TygerBurger\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Boniswa Retyu, Joshua Meintjies, founder Helen Lieberman, director Ishrene Davids, Dalintetho Matiwane, Yamihle Daraza and Ntombozuko Katangana .\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/\",\"name\":\"TygerBurger\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"TygerBurger\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/tyger-burger-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/tyger-burger-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"TygerBurger\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/TygerBurger\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/tygerburger\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/tygerburger\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@TygerBurger-SA\"],\"description\":\"Tygerburger has been a staple in the northern suburbs of Cape Town for many years, providing readers with timely and relevant local news. TygerBurger is a free weekly community newspaper distributed in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, serving areas including Bellville, Durbanville, Parow, Kuils River, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Goodwood, Milnerton, Table View, Tyger Valley, De Grendel, Mitchells Plain, Eerste River, Elsies River, and Ravensmead.\",\"email\":\"tygerburger@novusmedia.co.za\",\"telephone\":\"+27219106500\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f71e348ba4b9942416d90370345e952\",\"name\":\"TygerBurger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"TygerBurger\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/tygerburger\\\/author\\\/tygerburger\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Early Childhood Development and Its Lasting Impact | TygerBurger","description":"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO","og_description":"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/","og_site_name":"TygerBurger","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TygerBurger\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"TygerBurger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tygerburger","twitter_site":"@tygerburger","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"TygerBurger","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/"},"author":{"name":"TygerBurger","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#\/schema\/person\/0f71e348ba4b9942416d90370345e952"},"headline":"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO","datePublished":"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/"},"wordCount":579,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","keywords":["early childhood development","Featured"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/","name":"Early Childhood Development and Its Lasting Impact | TygerBurger","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-03T07:05:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T07:54:37+00:00","description":"As schools prepare to close for the festive season, Ikamva Labantu urges South Africans to invest in a child's educational journey.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Boniswa Retyu, Joshua Meintjies, founder Helen Lieberman, director Ishrene Davids, Dalintetho Matiwane, Yamihle Daraza and Ntombozuko Katangana ."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/the-future-starts-with-early-childhood-development\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Invest in early childhood development as festive season begins urges NGO"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/","name":"TygerBurger","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#organization","name":"TygerBurger","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tyger-burger-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tyger-burger-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"TygerBurger"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TygerBurger\/","https:\/\/x.com\/tygerburger","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tygerburger\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TygerBurger-SA"],"description":"Tygerburger has been a staple in the northern suburbs of Cape Town for many years, providing readers with timely and relevant local news. TygerBurger is a free weekly community newspaper distributed in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, serving areas including Bellville, Durbanville, Parow, Kuils River, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Goodwood, Milnerton, Table View, Tyger Valley, De Grendel, Mitchells Plain, Eerste River, Elsies River, and Ravensmead.","email":"tygerburger@novusmedia.co.za","telephone":"+27219106500","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/#\/schema\/person\/0f71e348ba4b9942416d90370345e952","name":"TygerBurger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae2ee35b60e108b154991fcbdb6e9114c9fa89c1b3386c09fa6f9b73c43dd5af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"TygerBurger"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/author\/tygerburger\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IkamvaLabantu_AnnaLu_51352.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":314309,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/greenville-ecd-forum\/","url_meta":{"origin":297642,"position":0},"title":"ECD Forum launched in Fisantekraal to support childhood development","author":"TygerBurger","date":"27 March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Greenville Early Childhood Development (ECD) Forum was officially launched this week in the community hall in Fisantekraal.","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Here at the launch of the Greenville ECD Forum are roleplayers, (from left) Getruida Maartens (chair: Greenville ECD Forum), Wilmot Arendse (City of Cape Town) , Loretta Loggenberg (principal: Fisantekraal Primary School) and Leroy Matroos (ECD consultant) .","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324_111935-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"TygerBurger","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297642"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=297642"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=297642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}