The people of Worcester in the Western Cape have come together to form a network of care and support for the development of children. Watch this short presentation to see what they did, how they did it, and their best advice for others who would like to create similar networks for children elsewhere in South Africa.

1. How the people of Worcester are coming together
to create a network of care and support for the
development of children
Creating circles of
care for children
A case study – written by Judy-Marié Smith
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2. Through DGMT I am privileged to know about and
have access to a number of great early learning
programmes. A while ago, I told retired DRC
minister, Ds. Jan Ungerer, that I would like to do
something to support early childhood development
efforts in Oudtshoorn…
Per introduction
Hi. I am Judy-Marié Smith and I head up the
Communication Portfolio at the DG Murray Trust (DGMT).
DGMT kindly allows me to do this from Oudtshoorn, a
small(ish) town in the Klein Karoo.
I started to talk with representatives of the Dutch
Reformed Church (DRC) about early childhood
development after they developed a relationship with the
DGMT to implement our Cape Town Embrace programme.
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3. He told me, with great certainty, that one of the best
things I can do is to start talking to people and
to connect them to create a network of
support and sharing around children’s
development and welfare.
Such a network is exactly what they created in Worcester (a town
about an hour’s drive from Cape Town) and the DRC played an
important role in creating those connections Press
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4. Press
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5. How and why they started
Ds Ungerer: “As part of the Worcester Hope and Reconciliation
Process we have been doing things that we hoped would aid the
process of reconciliation. For example, through our community meals
we create opportunities for different groups to come together over a
meal, have contact and form relationships.
However, we soon understood that people cannot ‘eat’ reconciliation –
so to speak. There won’t be true reconciliation if we don’t create
greater equality. We need to do more. By listening to various people
speak about early childhood development (ECD) we realised that it is
fundamental to creating equality and reducing poverty.
Although there are many ECD centres in the Worcester
area, many are understaffed and under-resourced for the
vital task of developing young minds.”
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6. The network brings together:
ECD Centres BusinessNonprofit
Organisations &
Foundations
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Community
Organisations &
Government
…and very importantly - this is
where faith-based organisations play
a unique role…

7. Individuals
Although it is impressive to list a number of ‘organisations’ that
are involved, one must never lose sight of the fact that
organisations are made-up of and represented by people.
One person, acting as part of a network, can
make a big difference.
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8. For example
… And in a network, small things done by many people can
have a big impact
A small thing…
Members of 15 DRC
congregations in
Worcester collect
different coloured
bottle caps from milk
and other bottles
…can grow to become a big thing
Through the ECD network the bottle
caps are distributed to ECD facilities
around Worcester, reaching more than
3 000 children.
Facilitated by ECD practitioners, these bottle caps
are used to teach children numeracy, colours, size,
texture and are used in a variety of craft projects
stimulating small motor development.
Many people
collect a small
number of bottle
caps each
90% of a child’s critical brain
development happens by age 5
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9. …can grow to become a big thing
The blocks are used to develop
the fine motor skills and small
muscles of children at about 100
ECD facilities in Worcester
A small thing…
Small donation
and service by
local business
Local wood factories
provide wood and cut
them into play blocks
Children who access early
childhood development services
are more likely to graduate and
get better grades than children
who do not have this
opportunity.
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10. By pooling together contributions from the
community and from within the network, the ECD
network in Worcester has been able to:
And they hope to do more…
Buy >R100 000 worth of educational toys
(distributed to 18 ECD centres)
Pull together ECD practitioners and stakeholders in the
area to reflect on their work during ECD workshops
Start-off the process of establishing 4 new ECD facilities in
communities that don’t have easy access to this service
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11. I tell Ds. Ungerer I am impressed and ask him,
how difficult is it to establish a network like this?
“We did not start from scratch this time, we drew from and built
on a network that was already existing. Many winters ago two
people died of exposure just outside the DRC mother
congregation building (which is centrally located in Worcester).
We wanted to build a shelter, but did not have the money to do it
on our own. It seemed like a broader community issue, so we
reached out to other faith-based and service organisations in
town to help us.
In erecting and maintaining this shelter - as a community -
valuable acquaintances were made and relationships formed.
We started taking on more things together”.
Ds. Ungerer: “Every person has a story to tell
and a contribution to make”.
Don’t have preconceived ideas about who would
be valuable as part of a network. Talk to anyone
and everyone. Listen. Connect people.
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12. Ds Ungerer: “Faith-based organisations are supposed to be a
blessing to the community. If we don’t get involved in this work and
start making a difference in the lives of people, we might as well be
a church on the moon!
That said, it is a question of heart and energy. We are thankful for
all the ministers with a heart for reconciliation and the energy to do
something about it”.
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I tell Ds. Ungerer that in my conversations around ECD
some ministers have said they realise the importance, but
their own congregations keep them very busy, and they don’t
have time to drive community projects external to the
congregation community.
Don’t be discouraged by people who don’t want
to be involved. Celebrate every person who cares
and has the energy to contribute. They are out
there – perhaps looking for a way to contribute.

13. Ds Ungerer: “The CEO of AFRIMAT was once invited to
speak at the business school at Stellenbosch University.
There he told the students about a minister in Worcester,
who, when he walks into your office, you knew was going
to ask for something. That was me, always asking - but
always for the community”. and welfare.
Be persistent. There is no harm in asking. Approach people in different
ways: sometimes a formal presentation is required, but often all it takes is a
happenstance informal conversation. Share your passion and make sure
people know the outcomes of their contributions. Over time, people will
associate you with this work and your reputation will help to open doors.
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14. I have made some progress in getting an Oudtshoorn ECD network
going. I decided to focus on finding ways to connect families on farms
to creative early learning approaches like Nal’ibali (.org) and
SmartStart (.org.za), and to try to duplicate the Cape Town Embrace
(.org.za) approach by linking local faith-based organisations to these
efforts.
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I found all of Ds. Ungerer’s advice to be true, but I
also found something else that’s interesting: You get
the ball rolling, but it is a sticky ball that gains
momentum and attracts things to it as it rolls. There
have been times when I thought that all of this is
going nowhere… And then - out of the blue -
someone with great energy, who has heard about
what I am trying to do (through some network
point) gives me a call. And just like that, it is a new
ball game  -
Ds. Ungerer will probably call it the hand of God.

15. "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a
single moment before starting to improve the
world." - Anne Frank
Thank you Ds. Ungerer for sharing the work of the Worcester ECD
Network with us, for your good advice and for being an inspiration.

16. Appendix: List of organisations contributing to the Worcester ECD Network
Faith-based and service
organisations
NPOs, Foundations &
Government
ECD Facilities & Forums Business
15 DRC congregations led by:
DRC Mother congregation; DRC
Worcester Vallei; DRC Worcester
Audenberg
United Church Worcester
Apostolic Faith Mission Church
Worcester
The DRC Synod of the Western
Cape
The Lions Club Worcester
National Institute for the Deaf
Kibbutz El-Shammah
Community Action
Partnership (CAP)
Worcester Hope and
Reconciliation Process
BADISA
ACVV of Worcester
Rope
The Restitution Foundation
Cape Town
DG Murray Trust
Department of Education
Department of Social
Development
Grape Vine Forum (working
113 facilities)
Bollieland Crèche
PA Venter
Worcester
Shopfitters
You can contact Ds Ungerer at dsjanungerer@gmail.com
Website for the DG Murray Trust: www.dgmt.co.za