It was a massive celebration at the Methodist church in Bizana, Winnie Madikizela Mandela Municipality (WMM), where Impande hosted it’s 2023 AGM. The event was attended by ECD teachers coming from different municipalities that are part of our network community. While the majority came from the local WMM, others arrived in taxis from as far as Ntabankulu, Ingquza Hill, Umzimvubu, Ray Nkonyeni, Alfred Nzo and Umdoni and were happy to be part of this very important annual event.
Amongst the guests was the keynote speaker of the day, Provincial ECD director of the Department of Education in Eastern Cape, Ms Nozipho Chiliza, who had many words of encouragement for our ECD network members and gratitude for Impande. We were happy to hear from a department official whose credentials, experience and passion are very much aligned with our own goals. Ms Nozipho Chiliza shared her own journey to discovering her passion for ECD and the need to see ECD development from a holistic approach. She also spoke in detail about the collaborative role of the Department of Education and Impande. She included her sincere thanks to Impande for being a commendable organization that truly does fill the gap. A very informed and forthcoming individual and truly a teacher at heart!
An Impande staff member, Asanda Dabula, gave an interesting and informative report on the Learning Group meetings that are held each month by 900 ECD teachers across 8 municipalities in Alfred Nzo, UGU and Harry Gwala District.
A very progressive Annual Report was read by the director of Impande, Brian Liggett, which amongst other things included the successful transition from Network Action Group to Impande Yotshani non-profit company. The report highlighted that we have good reason to reflect and celebrate the overall growth of the organisation and the impact made by the people who contributed to it. It’s so easy to get lost in every day, yearly operations and thinking that our efforts are only a drop in the ocean when in fact, they are ripples in the water. What a celebration!
One group we owe our growth to is our Advisory Committee which consists of 11 long-standing committed and experienced ECD teachers from the different municipalities we operate in, in KZN and Eastern Cape. As part of our network community, they play the important role of not only advising us but also advocating for the organisation to the community we serve.
As we close the year, we would like to extend our continuous gratitude to all our funders for helping us give more children in marginalised communities in South Africa a fair start in life. We would also like to thank our partners. With your assistance we have been able to mobilise significant investments direct to ECDs in the form of improved infrastructure, nutritional support and ECD resources. We are also appreciative of the opportunity to work closely with government to improve registration and to the Social Employment Fund who enable teachers at unfunded centers to earn an income.
