The Partnerships Changing Childhood

Real and lasting change in communities happens when organisations choose to work together with intention, shared values, and a commitment to meeting children where they are. The partnership between the DO MORE FOUNDATION (DMF) and PEPKOR Lifestyle is one such example, a collaboration grounded in the understanding that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in safe, supportive, and nurturing environments.

Across South Africa, too many young children still face barriers that limit their development long before they enter formal schooling. Limited access to quality early learning, food insecurity, unsafe environments, and under-resourced Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres continue to impact the futures of children and the communities around them. Addressing these challenges requires more than short-term interventions. It requires partnerships willing to invest in systems that support children holistically. This is where the alignment between DMF and PEPKOR Lifestyle becomes deeply meaningful.

PEPKOR Lifestyle’s Corporate Social Investment values place strong emphasis on education, community upliftment, sustainable development, and improving quality of life for vulnerable communities. These priorities closely mirror DMF’s mission to give every child the opportunity to reach their full potential through strengthening the ecosystem around them, from nutrition and safety to play, education, and caregiver support. Through PEPKOR Lifestyle’s investment into DMF’s work in Randfontein, practical interventions are reaching children, caregivers, ECD practitioners, and entire community networks in ways that create measurable and lasting impact. To date, the partnership has directly reached 4,700 young children, supported 61 ECD practitioners, and impacted 56 ECD programmes through a basket of integrated services. These numbers represent far more than programme outputs; they represent children learning in safer spaces, practitioners gaining confidence and skills, and communities becoming more connected around the wellbeing of their youngest members.

One of the most significant aspects of the partnership is its focus on strengthening the entire early childhood system rather than addressing challenges in isolation. PEPKOR Lifestyle’s support has contributed to infrastructure upgrades at Dumela ECD Centre, creating safer and more dignified learning environments for children aged two to six years old. The centre received two upgraded classrooms, four children’s toilets, a JoJo water tank, and learning and teaching materials. This investment speaks volumes about the kind of impact PEPKOR Lifestyle believes in, impact that restores dignity, improves safety, and creates environments where children can learn, play, and grow with confidence.

The partnership has also strengthened food security and practical life skills through food garden hubs supporting 16 ECD centres. These gardens are doing more than providing nutritious produce. They are helping practitioners and communities develop sustainable knowledge around harvesting, packaging, pricing, and selling produce through community market days. This creates pathways not only for improved nutrition, but also for local economic participation and long-term sustainability.

At the same time, toy libraries and Duplo training programmes are helping practitioners bring learning through play into classrooms at scale. ECD practitioners are being equipped with practical tools that support cognitive development, language growth, creativity, and curriculum-aligned learning in ways that are engaging and accessible for young children. Importantly, the work also extends beyond classrooms and gardens into the broader safety and protection of children. Through child protection campaigns conducted alongside SAPS, local government, and community stakeholders, awareness has been raised around gender-based violence, substance abuse, human trafficking, and children’s rights. These conversations are essential in creating communities where children are not only supported educationally but protected emotionally and physically as well.

For DMF, partnering with PEPKOR Lifestyle reflects a shared understanding that meaningful social impact requires collaboration, accountability, and long-term commitment. It is not simply about funding programmes; it is about standing alongside communities and investing in solutions that strengthen the systems surrounding children. PEPKOR Lifestyle’s involvement demonstrates what responsible corporate citizenship looks like in practice. Their investment reflects empathy, responsiveness to community needs, and a genuine commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families. It shows the value of businesses choosing to invest not only in economic growth, but in human potential.

Together, DMF and PEPKOR Lifestyle are helping build communities where children are safer, healthier, better nourished, and more prepared for the future. They are strengthening the people and structures that shape a child’s earliest years, because when those foundations are strong, entire communities benefit.

This partnership is proof that collective impact is possible when values align and action follows intention. And in Randfontein, that impact is already being felt in classrooms, gardens, homes, and the lives of thousands of children who now have a stronger start to life because organisations chose to work together with purpose.