Doing More in uPhongolo: A project fueled by a network of community relationships

Doing More in uPhongolo: A project fueled by a network of community relationships

12 Aug 2025


#000000

By Gladys Ryan

The heartbeat of the community: meeting ECD champions

Since 2020, Do More, through implementing partner Lulamaphiko, has been running an ECD programme in uPhongolo, a municipality in Northern KZN. Through this partnership, Do More has seen its work shift, change and grow in the most positive ways.

In May 2025 Do More felt it was time to document what was happening in this area. As part of the documentation, fieldwork was undertaken. It included participating in the visit by Executives of RCL and their partners, a visit to ECD centres, and interviews with the principals of those, along with visits to a parent, and discussions with RCL staff and government representatives. This fieldwork was supplemented by online interviews with a number of organisations who have come on board to support this initiative. They include the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF), Bookdash, Dlala Nathi and Real Reform for ECD, all organisations concerned with the wellbeing of young children and the early childhood development sector in general.

I always find the drive to Pongola (the town) quite harrowing. Those trucks and the crazy driving at times, especially when this is not your daily route, can be daunting. But I and my son, Luke, got there safely and found ourselves housed in The Directors’ Cottage, Room 3 at the RCL Village.

There was something nostalgic about being here because, when I was growing up, my uncle worked in a mill – first in Big Bend in Swaziland (then) and later in Amatikhulu. There was something very peaceful about these little enclaves (although now I recall a monkey jumping on my head – and I have HAIR! It was terrifying then but hilarious in hindsight).

But I digress. That was just the beginning of a really beautiful, engaging and fulfilling trip. There is something very special about this town and the surrounding area (which I’ve come to find is called uPhongolo, as opposed to the town, Pongola and the river that runs through it, also Pongola). Everywhere we went people were friendly. I think partly this was due to the Lulamaphiko staff who are well-known and, it seems, very loved, in these parts. Not surprising given that they have done truly incredible work in ECD. And partly, I think, due to my handsome and open-faced son and his camera. He was like a magnet for people everywhere wanting to have their photos taken (there is a political story there, but that’s for another day and maybe another crowd).

Backbone in action

On the first day, Jabu Mthembu-Dlamini, Do More’s Community Programmes Lead, had planned a visit for the executives of RCL and their wives/partners. We met briefly at the Pongola Teacher Development Centre where Lulamaphiko hosts its events, and where Warren Farrer, Do More’s CEO, and Jabu shared an overview of what was planned. We were then taken in two groups to visit different ECD centres.

It was a joy to see the children playing with toys and doing their artwork. What I loved most was seeing some of the Executives getting down and dirty with the children – playing with them and getting involved in the activities. I loved that!

After we returned to the centre and had more fun with Dipho, Lulamaphiko’s uPhongolo Team Leader, involving us in training he was running for practitioners and nurses around using Duplo toys in the classroom. What was great was that he got us involved in the activities so we could feel what it was like to be a participant. It was a lot of fun, even though my group’s tower did not turn out to be the tallest and strongest!

We then swopped and were immersed in the workshop Nozibusiso (or Noorzy) was running with caregivers around Eat Love Play Talk, Do More’s own programme that is not only run by Lulamaphiko but has been taken up by NMCF in a bid to support Community Health Workers addressing malnutrition and who work with young moms.

Seeing the gains, and the gaps

Our visits to the ECD centres and Lulamaphiko’s demo garden were truly enriching and rewarding. With so little, principals and practitioners at ECD centres do so much. There are many challenges to overcome but the bottomline is their commitment to keeping children safe and going beyond that to ensure they have a stable foundation.

There is a long way to go though, to getting ECD right. This sector has been historically neglected and seen as less significant than formal education. These are just some of the issues (in my view) that need to be addressed urgently:

  • Getting subsidies to ECD centres who qualify: while shifting responsibility for ECD from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Education may be a rational one and possibly makes sense for the long-term, in the short-term it is causing major blockages for ECD centres.
  • Perhaps the requirements for ECD centres to qualify for a subsidy are too onerous. Very few, if any, can reach the standards set yet they all need the subsidies in order to provide the best and safest conditions for their children.
  • More businesses involved in supporting ECD: Do More Foundation has created the perfect conditions for businesses to get involved without the headache of having to think through the logistics and other matters that may be involved in decisions to fund.
  • Finding a way to get more caregivers to contribute to the ECD centres. One of the Principals interviewed shared that she encourages parents or caregivers to make any donations they can, even soap or sanitizer or tissues.

Honest conversations, and the dream of systemic change

Do More and Lulamaphiko are getting something right in uPhongolo. These are my thoughts on why that may be so:

  • They did this in a thoughtful, thorough manner from the outset, starting with a scoping study to get a good sense of what was happening in the ECD sector in Pongola (later, the work shifted to encompass uPhongolo, based on recommendations in the Scoping Study).
  • They chose the right implementing partner: Lulamaphiko is a partner that has come to be respected in the area. It is thorough, conscientious and committed to the people of uPhongolo and to ECD.

Do More themselves have an amazing team. I have had the great pleasure of working closely with Jessica Ronassen, Do More’s National Programme Lead on this project. I don’t say this lightly; our interactions have been seamless, thoughtful, kind and gracious. I’ve also really enjoyed interacting with colleagues Cara Goschen, Do More’s Communications Lead & Project Manager and Jabu, who I’ve heard described on a number of occasions as the Matriarch of Do More Foundation and Warren Farrer, Do More’s CEO. I have had the privilege of meeting with Jabu and Warren informally as well and have a deep respect for their dedication and commitment to seeing things change for early childhood development.

The full case study story of our work in uPhongolo will be published later in 2025.

About the Author -

Gladys Ryan has worked in the human rights sector throughout her career and has a background in adult and popular education. She was a student activist and trade unionist and is a facilitator, writer and writing mentor. She published her book, Gentle Like Water: a path for the selful soul, on Women’s Day in 2023. Gladys is passionate about supporting other black women/women of colour to write their stories and with helping organisations tell theirs. She is the founder of Communicating Simply, the contractor supporting the uPhongolo Case Study.