OUR NEWS

In rural communities like Bushbuckridge, where many families rely on local clinics as their first point of care, nurses play a vital role in supporting child health and survival. The Department of Health continues to invest in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy to strengthen primary health care. IMCI equips nurses with a structured approach to assess and manage the most common illnesses affecting children under five, improving early detection, treatment, and referral.

Why IMCI Matters IMCI gives the health professionals and nurses updated information around recent or ever changing childhood illness. It enables nurses to assess children holistically rather than treating single symptoms in isolation. For example, a child presenting with fever, cough, and diarrhoea is evaluated comprehensively, considering underlying causes, danger signs, and age-appropriate treatment protocols. This approach is especially important in Bushbuckridge, where malnutrition, respiratory infections, HIV, and limited access to tertiary care overlap. By reinforcing structured assessment and treatment plans, IMCI helps nurses make faster, better-informed decisions that reduce child mortality and improve developmental outcomes.

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector plays an important role in supporting the growth and development of young children in South Africa. However, many ECD practitioners face challenges in accessing accredited training, as they are often unable to afford the fees required to further their studies. To help close this gap, the Muir Foundation, through the DO MORE FOUNDATION, assisted a group of practitioners in completing a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 4 training program.

The training contributes to ongoing efforts to support and strengthen ECD practitioners to gain a recognised and accredited qualification. Through this opportunity, practitioners were able to complete the Further Education and Training Certificate in ECD (NQF Level 4), accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). The qualification is designed to develop understanding and practical skills, helping practitioners improve their learning environments and feel more confident in their work with young children.

In 2025, the DO MORE FOUNDATION, in partnership with Seriti Institute, continued to invest in skills that would address and support nutrition in South Africa by investing directly in young people as change makers.

Through the foundation's flagship ‘Eat Love Play talk (ELPT)’ programme, an innovative initiative that blends early childhood development, public health education, and youth development. Eat Love Play Talk (ELPT) recognises that young people are powerful agents of change and equips them with practical knowledge and skills such as communication, empathy, and message development. By building their capacity to engage meaningfully with caregivers and communities, Eat Love Play Talk (ELPT) is nurturing a new generation of youth leaders who are driving positive health outcomes and reshaping the future of child nutrition from the ground up.

At the DO MORE FOUNDATION, our mission to strengthen families and nurture young children is deeply rooted in collaboration. Over the past year, a strategic partnership amplifying our parenting work has been our active membership in the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN).

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.

The First 1000 Days is increasingly recognised as a critical period for child development, with a growing global evidence base. But the key question remains: where is the best platform to reach young children, and how do we localise these globally acknowledged messages? What do they mean for the everyday mother or family in a local community? Churches remain deeply trusted institutions, places where families gather, and where care often begins.

Over the past five months, faith leaders in Nkomazi and the Breede River Valley have been taking intentional steps to support families in the First Thousand Days (first 1000 Days) which is the period from pregnancy to age two. This work is part of a growing partnership between the Do More Foundation, Sikunye, and local church networks. Together, we are walking alongside churches as they find ways to nurture the youngest members of their community by strengthening the families around them.

Who is Sikunye? Sikunye is a programme of Common Good that supports churches across South Africa to engage in early childhood development. The name means “We are together” — and that’s the heart of their approach: equipping church leaders with practical tools, training, and accompaniment to become champions for children in the early years.