July 2021.

Zingce Ume Ka Kuhle Educare and Aftercare Centre, has expanded to add two classrooms, an office, sick bay, kitchen and bathroom facilities, funded by Noupoort Wind Farm, in collaboration with Breadline Africa.

The expansion means that the needs of over 70 community children, at this Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre, can now be comfortably provided for, thanks to the newly installed education container.

“We have a huge number of children and space has always been an issue for us. Now that we have an edu-container, we have one less thing to worry about. The children can now be grouped according to their ages in the different classrooms, which will boost their learning experience,” said Vuyelwa Fuba, Principal of Zingce Ume Ka Kuhle Educare and Aftercare Centre, in Noupoort.

The installation is housed at new premises, which was also secured by Noupoort Wind Farm, as the previous grounds were not compliant or suitably equipped to operate an ECD Centre.

“This Educare and Aftercare Centre is very popular among parents who are mostly employed in town and require a centrally located facility that enables an easy drop off and point of collection for their children, en-route to and from work. The centre, which previously operated out of the principal’s garage, did not anticipate its popularity, which led to overcrowding, hence we wanted to help,” said Sandisiwe Mntonintshi, Economic Development Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm.

This is not the first time that Noupoort Wind Farm has funded an ECD centre, as part of its Socio-Economic Development programme which strives to provide adequate resources and facilities for its youngest population.
A newly built crèche was provided in 2019 for the community of Eurekaville. The facility was built to capacitate 200 children on rezoned community land that was donated by the local municipality, as well as the land that the playground has been built on.

Additionally, a secure communal park was also donated by the Wind Farm, situated alongside the crèche, to provide a place of play, an essential component for any community.

“Our wind farm’s community development programme addresses ECD capacity and supports ECD practitioner training to ensure that centres are well managed and provide quality education to young children, helping to prepare them for formal schooling,” concluded Mntonintshi.