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In Hammarsdale, a practical collaboration between PEP stores, NIYA Consulting and the DO MORE FOUNDATION is helping Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres improve how they feed and teach young children. Through the Agric-ECD Gardens Project, 40 centres have set up vegetable gardens aimed at reducing food costs and making nutritious meals more accessible. This was made possible by the generous funding allocated from PEP stores.

The goal is simple: create small gardens that are easy to maintain, lower centre expenses, and give children regular exposure to where their food comes from. Each garden adds fresh produce from cabbage, spinach, beetroot, green peppers, onions to tomatoes all added to daily meals served at the centre. Any unsed product provides an additional income stream to the centre through sales within the community. Altogether, over 12,800 seedlings have been planted across these sites over the past year.

As an Emerging Evaluator and MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) Intern at the DO MORE FOUNDATION, I had the opportunity to visit several Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres in Hammarsdale, Kwazulu-Natal. I was joined by third year students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), from the Department of Consumer Sciences: Food & Nutrition. The purpose of the visit was to check and verify how the centres are doing and what programmes they are involved in.

We visited a range of ECD centres across the area, including both smaller home-based sites and larger, more formalised centres. These sites varied in terms of infrastructure, resourcing, and levels of support, offering a broad view of current conditions and practices across the local ECD landscape. We checked whether they are part of different programmes such as Eat Play Love Talk (ELPT), Repurpose for Purpose, Duplo block training, porridge feeding, and food gardens. We also asked if they receive any other training or are part of local ECD forums.

The DO MORE FOUNDATION’s fortified porridge distribution model responds to the needs of local communities. While it is not a silver bullet to solve all social challenges, it represents a practical and impactful step toward improving child well-being through nutrition support.

Early childhood is a critical period for growth and brain development. ​​Poor nutrition during this time can lead to stunting, which affects not only a child’s height but also their cognitive development, immune function, and future learning and earning potential. In South Africa, fewer than 25% of children receive a minimum acceptable diet at home. Providing a fortified meal daily at ECD centres helps fill this gap. While it alone cannot eliminate stunting, it is a vital contribution to children’s nutritional needs, supporting their concentration and energy for learning.

As a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Emerging Evaluator with the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA), I had the opportunity to attend a Young Child Forum (YCF). I hoped to gain an understanding of what a YCF is, observe how Early Childhood Development (ECD) policies are used on the ground, and see how various local stakeholders collaborate and engage with one another.

On June 10, 2025, the DO MORE FOUNDATION, together with our implementing partner Niya Consulting, hosted a preliminary Shark Tank event in Hammarsdale. This event formed part of our broader Township Economy programme, which is focused on equipping young women with the skills, networks, and confidence to grow businesses that can sustain families and strengthen local economies.

The Shark Tank provided a structured opportunity for women entrepreneurs in our 2024/25 cohort to pitch their businesses. This event has become a learning space , where participants test their ability to articulate their busniess models, showcase products, and explain how they have grown as entrepreneurs and plan to scale. Each woman brought forward a story that demonstrated both practical understanding and deep commitment to their ventures.

The EAT LOVE PLAY TALK (ELPT) programme, a community-driven parenting initiative rooted in evidence and empathy, is proving that simple messages can lead to meaningful change for young children and their caregivers. For example, over the past 18 months, 632 participants across five provinces had been trained in the ELPT programme, reaching 15 communities with vital information about healthy eating, loving relationships, playful learning, and language development. The result? A significant boost in confidence and knowledge among participants, with self-reported confidence levels rising from 58.97% to 73.2% after training. This surge in confidence, coupled with a 7.3% increase in correct answers on key message-related questions, underscores the programme’s effectiveness in empowering participants to make a real difference in their communities. At the centre of this movement is a bold approach: a master training model designed not just to inform, but to ignite.