The future of every nation is held within the fragile hands of its children.
How else can we build the future? In the end, all the greatest monuments of a nation, its structures, streets, and systems, would be left empty without the people that inhabit them, and most importantly, the people that inherit them.
Building tomorrow means inspiring tomorrow’s leaders, and the best way to teach children a better future is to create a small piece of it where they are. The space where a child learns, after all, plays a vital role in their education. If we can turn these spaces into physical symbols of hope, vision, and growth, this can stimulate young minds, boost confidence, and instil dignity.
Inspiring spaces provide a canvas for the development of positive ideas and possibilities, enabling children to build their future, and ultimately, our future.
The first steps
Ranyaka launched its Early Childhood Development programme in the Western Cape in 2017. This also marked the official start of the Nedbank Proud of My Town (PoMT) programme. Our journey kicked off with 60 ECD centres in Stellenbosch and Paarl. We worked with the principals to understand their needs and launched a series of interventions with a two-fold focus.
Firstly, to capacitate the educators with skills in health, safety, nutrition, financial management, and later, digital skills. Secondly, to create safer learning environments through the donation of safety equipment and the application of fire-retardant paint to wooden structures. The team also worked on making the spaces more inviting by adding splashes of colour, with principals, volunteers, and friends helping paint the treated structures.
Growing up
In mid-2021, the ECD programme expanded to Mamelodi township in Gauteng.
Here, too, we began with those most responsible for the education of our future leaders. A total of 50 ECD principals participated in the first capacitation series, which covered critical topics including first aid, fire prevention, compliance, financial management, and small-space food gardening. Most completed the whole series and are now equipped with skills often overlooked but vital for quality learning spaces.
The Ranyaka team then surveyed participating ECD centres to identify priority infrastructure and safety needs. An initial group of five centres, followed by an additional five, were chosen for targeted renovations to create safer, more attractive, and child-friendly spaces.
These renovations included new signage, murals and classroom paintings by local artists, playground upgrades, water tank installations, table, chair, and toy donations, and, for some, the installation of food gardens.
The approach in Mamelodi formed the basis for a skills-plus-space framework to be replicated in other communities. The programme soon expanded into Tembisa in Gauteng, KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, Boitekong township in the North-West province, and Zwide in the Eastern Cape.
“The strong outcomes in Mamelodi, where principals not only gained new skills but also saw their centres transformed into safer, more attractive learning environments, demonstrated that the model could be effectively replicated.” – Lesego Masethe, Ranyaka Marketing Director
Not exactly a walk in the park
This would, however, not be light work. Limited resources often required creative approaches, and the remote locations of some ECD centres, many of them dealing with damaged infrastructure, made access difficult for project teams and supplies.
“Despite these hurdles, the programme continued to take root because of the commitment of local principals, the support of community partners and volunteers, and the adaptability of the Ranyaka team in tailoring solutions to each context.” – Lesego Masethe
Spaces that spell ‘hope’
Safer, more welcoming, and colourful environments now allow children to learn and grow in stimulating spaces. The lessons of these centres are not just about schooling, but also about demonstrating that hope and growth can be created anywhere, whether at school or at home. Sometimes all it takes is a little vision and a bucket of paint. The improved spaces have given teachers and principals renewed energy to inspire and motivate their students.
Enrolments have also improved in the upgraded ECD centres. In Mamelodi and Boitekong, principals reported increases in the number of new learners immediately after renovations were completed.
“A single renovated ECD thus becomes a symbol of hope, demonstrating how small, targeted investments can spark broader community confidence and participation. Each Fix Your Space upgrade has shown that when you invest in the smallest learners, the returns extend far beyond the classroom wall,” says Lesego.
Most of all, these centres now serve as positive spaces that shape the minds of the changemakers who will be shaping our future.
Shaping the future
The greatest asset of any community is its hope and vision for the future. Both lie with their children, and both can be nurtured by something as simple as a painted wall.
There is power in space. If spaces can inspire children, we are not only building better environments, but also shaping the future itself.
Thanks to community volunteers, local artists, school principals, and the support of the Nedbank PoMT programme, these children can now learn within the walls of hope, experiencing places that feel as if the future they are working to build has already arrived.
Early Childhood Development is one of ten programmes that Ranyaka Community Transformation implements across South Africa under the banner of the national Nedbank Proud of my Town programme. To date, 300 ECD centres across South Africa have benefited from a range of initiatives under the banner of the POMT programme.