SSP Legacy brings permanent change to the lives of Santa Shoebox beneficiary children and to the impoverished communities in which they live, by establishing new and transforming existing Early Childhood Development Centres in rural South Africa, with the focus on infrastructure & Department of Basic Education registration, teacher training and early literacy.
BUILD
Establishing new and transforming existing Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in rural South Africa, in line with requirements for registration with the Department of Basic Education enabling access to social grants.
LEARN
Training ECD practitioners in support of learners achieving developmental milestones, such as perceptual skills and learning through play.
READ
Installing reading corners in ECD centres, with training to ensure that books are incorporated into all aspects of ECD, such as gross and fine motor skills, language, behavioural, cognitive and social-emotional development.
Most of the operating costs of the Santa Shoebox Project are covered by the Project’s main sponsor PEP.
All private financial donations contribute towards the Santa Shoebox Legacy
Projects to Date
BUILD | Zisizeni Créche
Santa Shoebox Legacy’s 5th BUILD project, Zisizeni Educare in the uThukela District of KZN, was presented to the community on 27 July 2024. Zisizeni, which means “you can help yourself if you try” now has 2 classrooms housing 40 children, two toilets, a kitchen and an office which doubles as a sick bay. The building is fully guttered, feeding rainwater tanks, has a delightful playground and is fully fenced in. A vegetable garden was also planted as well as 3 fruit trees. This build was self-funded, made possible by the sale of Virtual Santa Shoeboxes.
BUILD | Qandokuhle Créche
SSP Legacy’s 4th BUILD project, Qandokuhle Créche in the uThukela District of KZN, was presented to the community on 29 July 2023. Qandokuhle has two classrooms, two toilets, a kitchen and an office – all fully kitted out. It also has a delightful playground and is fenced in to ensure the safety of the 40 children in attendance. The heartwarming and uplifting opening ceremony was attended by the local Chief and his tribal ministers, as well as the entire surrounding community, who performed traditional Zulu dances and sang praise songs.
Partners: Red Hat Software
BUILD | Snethemba Educare
Snethemba Educare centre in the Draycott District of KZN was SSP Legacy’s 3rd BUILD project. Built from the ground up on a vacant piece of land, Snethemba has two classrooms, two toilets, a kitchen and an office. The delightful playground is fenced in to ensure the safety of the 32 children in attendance. Our partner on this build was Red Hat Software, who not only contributed to the financial costs of the project, but also sent a team from their offices in JHB to help with general DIY in the lead up to the opening.
Partners: Red Hat Software
BUILD | Soul City ECD
Soul City has educated 40 children annually in rural KwaZulu Natal’s Loskop region since 2012.
The humble mud daub structure required frequent repairs due to the area’s humid climate.
Soul City is now a registered fully fitted ECD Centre housed in a brick building, boasting two classrooms, a kitchen, an office / sick bay, covered veranda, fenced play area, water tank, toilets and a food garden.
Soul City was handed to the community in 2020 and has been immaculately maintained since that time.
Partners: Impande, Al-Imdaad Foundation, Forge Agri and Gift of the Givers
BUILD | Fairfield Créche
The Fairfield Créche was built on a farm in Ceres in the Western Cape and is attended by the farm-worker’s children. The building was previously an unused storage facility, and was upgraded to provide a fully equipped classroom and fenced play area to accommodate more than 30 children.
READ | Reading Corners
More than 80% of grade 4 learners struggle with reading comprehension, and many start Grade 1 without ever having held a book. Through READ, the SSP Legacy establishes reading corners in under-resourced ECD centers countrywide. Each corner includes a bookshelf with 100 books, seating, cushions, and an interactive rug which is incorporated into a 40-week lesson plan addressing developmental milestones.
Partners: Learning in Reach, The Reach Trust and Book Dash
LEARN | Educator Training
Many Early Childhood Development practitioners are under- or completely un-qualified. The SSP Legacy addresses this inequality by partnering with expert trainers in providing opportunities for skills acquisition. The Santa Shoebox Project has a pipeline to tens of thousands of educational practitioners, and with the support of private donors and organisations’ CSI and SED initiatives, is able to offer them training.
Partners: ORT SA Cape, Singekwenza, Siphakeme
HELP | COVID Response
SSP Legacy funds were allocated to various NPOs aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals, aiding impoverished communities during the Covid19 crisis. These include Fundiswa Umntwana who provided food for more than 600 people in Winterton, Feed Rural KZN who fed 6 500 in Mbazwana, and Rise Against Hunger, who distribute food and promote sustainable agriculture nationally. Additionally, FoodFlow SA, Abalimi Bezekhaya, Save the Sheep, Abalobi, Epic Foundation, Subz, and Little Sun were engaged with, addressing diverse issues from food security to sustainable energy solutions.