Sprouts for Education, South Africa

The importance of quality early childhood education is often taken for granted in the United States. However, for the children of Makrepeni, educational options are limited. Many do not attend school and, if they do go, the schools are understaffed and under resourced. The community in Makrepeni needs every incentive and opportunity to boost their ability to succeed and work their way out of poverty.

Jessica Maurer, Think Impact 2010 Fellow, is working with the women of the Makrepeni crèche, a preschool in South Africa, to create an agricultural co-operative and to grow food for the school. Their goal is to produce enough food to feed the children and sell the surplus to the community to generate revenue for the co-operative and school. The revenue will fund educational activities and supply paper, crayons, books and required maintenance.

The improvements to the crèche will offer a quality-learning environment and provide food for the students giving incentive for these children to attend school regularly. Any additional food produced will be invested in the crèche programs. The leaders also want to build child-size latrines and carry out other maintenance projects to improve the learning environment. The total budget, including agricultural supplies, educational workshops, fencing and necessary building maintenance is $17,000.

Jessica Maurer, Think Impact Fellow, will live in Makrepeni, a community in the Manyeleti region of South Africa, for one year while she works with the community to carry out this initiative. She can be contacted by email at: Jessica.Maurer@thinkimpact.org.