Building local ECD knowledge
Evidence from the Sobambisana Initiative
In 2008, Ilifa commissioned five non-profit organisations to test various models of community-based ECD across four South African provinces. This resulted in a four-year programme known as the Sobambisana (‘Togetherness’) Initiative.
The Sobambisana Initiative comprised five kinds of interventions:
- home visits to caregivers and children
- community playgroups with parent education components
- community playgroups without parent education components
- centre and school-based interventions
- advocacy for improved and integrated services for children among regional and local government officials and civil society organisations
This learning brief focuses on ECD as a development concern in a South African context, and offers lessons learned from the Sobambisana interventions.
Written by Andy Dawes, Linda Biersteker, and Lynn Hendriks. Published by Ilifa in May 2012.
