Volkswagen drives early childhood development
Volkswagen Group South Africa has extended its social investment commitment to supporting early childhood development with the sponsorship of 10 Polo’s. The partnership with the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) started in 2008 with the sponsorship of Citi Golf’s which were later replaced with Polo Vivo’s.
The vehicles are used to transport Early Childhood Development (ECD) trainers and fieldworkers to rural areas across the country. CECD has partnered with key ECD organisations such as Ntataise Network in Free State and Edutak Pre-School Training and Development in Gauteng to ensure that the vehicles provide services where they are mostly needed. CECD provides leadership and management skills as well as training to pre-schools and their practitioners.
These vehicles enable CECD and its partners to provide services to over 30 000 children and 50 practitioners each year.
Esther Phashane from Edutak said: “These vehicles have made a big difference in helping us to reach rural areas where there are dire needs for early childhood development interventions. We are very grateful to Volkswagen for investing in our cause of helping our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
With the help of Volkswagen, CECD and its partners in other provinces are able to access and work with over 600 ECD centres. This allows us to reach more than 30 000 children each year. VW’s contribution helps us with teacher training programmes for ECD principals, building structure upgrades, literacy, numeracy as well as life skills training, added Rukea Shaik, Operations Manager at CECD.
“At Volkswagen, we believe in the spirit of partnership in order for us to succeed as a corporate citizen and for the advancement of our society. One of Volkswagen’s Brand Values is being responsible which is a testimony of what we have done in the past six years through our support of the ECD programmes with the sponsorship of vehicles to CECD as well as the opening of the R4,5 million Ikhwezi Lomso Pre-Primary school in Uitenhage in 2011,” Nonkqubela Maliza, Director: Corporate and Government Affairs at Volkswagen Group South Africa said.
Maliza added: The importance and value of ECD as the foundation for our children’s education can never be overstated. The sterling work that is done by the CECD and its partners should be commended. We will continue to support them as we endeavour to do our best for the world through our CSI programme.”
Meanwhile, Volkswagen has extended its vehicle sponsorship to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) for another year. Volkswagen has sponsored a Polo Vivo Sedan to the NMCM since 2011.