THELELULWAZI CRECHE ACHIEVES OFFICIAL ACCREDITATION!
We are incredibly proud to celebrate BIG news: Thelelulwazi Creche, one of two creches supported by Wild Tomorrow as part of our community program, has officially achieved official certification from the South African Government’s Department of Basic Education. This has been a joint journey for Wild Tomorrow and the dedicated teachers at Theleluwazi since we began our journey together in 2019.
This is a transformational milestone, not just for the Thelelulwazi Creche – but for what’s possible across our region. Read more about this exciting update in our latest blog post below.
A happy young learner at the Thelelulwazi Creche that will benefit from professional ECD learning activities and trained teachers!
FROM A SHED TO AN ACCREDITED KINDERGARTEN
When Wild Tomorrow first asked our community partner, Wild Impact, how we could best support families living alongside our nature reserve in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, they pointed us toward a small creche called Thelelulwazi.
At the time, the creche was operating out of a tiny shed beside a local church. Inside, a handful of incredibly dedicated women cared for young children every day in difficult conditions — with limited resources, little infrastructure, and as unpaid teachers. Yet despite the challenges, they continued to show up every morning because they believed deeply in the children of their community.
The small structure the creche used and shared with the local Church before the new school house was constructed in 2019..
We knew immediately where the journey needed to begin: the children and teachers deserved a safe place to learn. So in 2019, together with generous donors and partners, Wild Tomorrow built a brand-new schoolhouse for Thelelulwazi Creche. It was a huge milestone — but it quickly became clear that a new school building alone could not solve the deeper challenges facing the creche.
The teachers still were not receiving salaries. Many children arrived at school hungry. So Wild Tomorrow began supporting monthly food supplies, while also helping provide supplies and teacher stipends to keep the creche operating. The committed teachers would cook meals outside on a wood-fired pot, feeding 35 children a day in rain, wind or hot sunshine.
Then we learned something that would shape the next chapter of the journey: if Thelelulwazi could achieve official government registration and accreditation, the creche would become eligible for long-term government support — including assistance with teacher salaries and operational funding.
One of the biggest obstacles to accreditation was infrastructure. To qualify, the creche needed a separate kitchen and dining hall that met government standards. The cost — nearly $30,000 — was far beyond what the community could afford. Wild Tomorrow looked for support again from our community of donors, and found a generous donor (Thank you Valerie Goldin-Remm!). It was over 3 years ago in October 2022, that Thelelulwazi’s kitchen and dining hall construction was complete - with new fridges, an oven and tables and chairs for the kids.
But having a separate kitchen and dining facility was just one step on a daunting long list of requirements towards official recognition and subsidized funding by the South African Government’s Department of Basic Education (DBE). With the arrival of our Community Conservation Manager, Aphiwe Notshaya at Wild Tomorrow, she realized that quality early childhood education requires more than infrastructure.
Quality early learning is crucial to creating brighter futures for the children of Mduku. Research consistently shows that without quality education in early years, children rarely catch up — impacting their future outcomes. Sadly, according to a recent 2024 national Thrive by Five report, only 61% of ECD centers having at least ten children’s books and 34% lacking playground equipment. These and other deficits compromise the quality of education offered at the creches.
Aphiwe (Wild Tomorrow’s Community Conservation Manager) in her element with the kids at Thelelulwazi Creche!
The teachers at Thelelulwazi had enormous heart and commitment, but they had never been given access to formal teacher training, structured curriculum support or the professional mentorship needed to run a thriving accredited childcare center.
Initiated by Aphiwe, Wild Tomorrow and the dedicated teachers of Theleluwazi Creche, partnered with GrowECD, a South African nonprofit specializing in helping community creches professionalize and succeed. Last year, Wild Tomorrow invested in GrowECD’s comprehensive three-year program for both of the creches we support, which provides teacher training, learning materials, curriculum development, business management systems, and mentorship designed to help creches meet national education standards
GrowECD explains that the program investment for the teachers, “…is like having a mentor next to each teacher since it includes voice note summaries, video demos, recorded songs and rhymes, photos and detailed instructions for each age group, per theme, for the whole school year,” plus new posters and learning materials for the classroom walls, and other educational aids — which you can see in the classroom photos!
Jenny Machangu, Wild Tomorrow’s ECD Program Manager.
A key requirement of the GrowECD program was that it needs to be implemented by a qualified teacher — so we hired Jenny Machangu last year to lead the program. With her Bachelors degree in Education and a passion for both wildlife and community development, she joined Wild Tomorrow as a full-time staff member with one mission: to work directly alongside the creche teachers and help guide them through the accreditation journey.
And now, all of this hard work and investment has paid off…and ahead of time! Last month, the Thelelulwazi creche received the incredible news: their creche had met the standards needed to receive Bronze level certification. Their first government payment arrived on April the 7th, to much celebration! Teachers who once worked unpaid in a small shed are now part of a professionally recognized early childhood education center. It is hard to overstate how significant this moment is:
⭐ For the children, it means access to better early education and stronger opportunities for the future.
⭐ For the teachers, it is recognition of years of perseverance, resilience, and love for their community — even during times when they had almost no support themselves.
⭐ And for all of us at Wild Tomorrow, it is a powerful reminder that conservation is ultimately about people too. When communities are empowered, children are supported, and local women are given opportunities to lead, entire futures can change.
Jenny with two of the dedicated teachers of Thelelulwazi Creche.
In short, Thelelulwazi is stepping into a new chapter of empowerment and self-sustainability. Aphiwe’s passion, persistence, and belief in what’s possible have helped turn a long-term dream into reality. When asked about the moment, Aphiwe shared:
“When I first started with Wild Tomorrow, this felt like such a huge and overwhelming task. To now be able to share with the team that we did this...it’s incredibly special. I honestly didn’t think we would achieve it so soon. I’m still in disbelief– did we really secure this funding?!”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THELELULWAZI
One of Thelelulwazi Creche’s learners and a Grow ECD puzzle.
Theleluwazi has achieved Bronze Certification with the Department of Education...an INCREDIBLE accomplishment!
But we’re not stopping here - the goal is Gold!
The Bronze level certification is valid for one year after which the Education Department’s inspectors will return, to check on additional requirements. We will do everything to support the teachers to pass with flying colors, towards their Silver/Gold status, which is then valid for 5 years - together with continuity in Government funding.
By the next evaluation, the creche aims to:
Build two additional classrooms (each classroom build costs ~$30k)
Establish a sick bay
Install fire safety equipment
Continue improving overall infrastructure and care standards
We could not be prouder of Thelelulwazi, of Aphiwe, of Jenny, and of every teacher who are making the dream of a 5-star, gold-certified local ECD center possible. 💚
BE PART OF WHAT COMES NEXT
While Thelelulwazi steps into sustainability, our work continues. There are more creches. More children. More communities that need this same pathway forward. This milestone represents something even bigger than one creche. It proves that this model works. By supporting ECD centers to reach the standards required for government funding, we can help them become self-sustaining – and then replicate that success with other creches across our neighboring communities. This is how we can create a lasting, scalable impact.
If you’d like to be part of building brighter futures – and helping us replicate the model – we'd love your support.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
This achievement is a true reflection of what’s possible when organizations come together with a shared vision.
Wild Impact (andBeyond Phinda’s charity arm) helped us to identify the creche as a meaningful community project. They then provided plans and managed the construction of the creche building, kitchen, and dining room complex. The creche school house building was funded by generous donations thanks to: Lise Grendene, who funded initial school house construction (2019), and Valerie Golden-Remm who funded the construction of the new kitchen and dining hall (2022).
The Grow ECD program, implemented through Wild Tomorrow’s community education donors, equipped Thelelulwazi’s teachers with with the skills, support and tools they need to provide quality early learning for every child while also operating their preschools more professionally and financially sustainably – positioning the creche for long-term success. Special thanks to Ronald Fong for his suppport.
And the Department of Basic Education(DBE) played a critical role in guiding and supporting the process, helping bring this funding and certification to life.
It’s a powerful reminder that sustainable change doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens through collaboration.
Together, we’re not just supporting schools. We’re building a future where communities and conservation can thrive side by side. 💚