Award-winning digital entrepreneur, media personality, and mother of three, Olwethu Leshabane, has teamed up with early learning non-profit SmartStart, to empower parents and caregivers to play an active role in their children’s education, especially in the early learning years. As one of South Africa’s most notable parenthood content creators, Leshabane will use her platform to help raise awareness around the importance of learning for children aged three to five years old.
“Early learning forms the foundation for the future success of our children. As parents and caregivers, we are our children’s first and most important teachers, which means it’s up to us to provide the experiences and interactions children need to develop. I’m excited to be working with SmartStart to share information on how early learning can be achieved through talk, play, nurture, and storytelling,” says Leshabane.
The partnership was launched to tie in with SmartStart’s national campaign, aimed at empowering parents and caregivers to bring stimulating and engaging early learning activities into their homes. From a long-term impact perspective, this will enhance a child’s experience when attending a learning programme or pre-school. Highlighting the importance of learning milestones, the campaign reminds caregivers that #EveryWeekCounts when it comes to providing foundational experiences and interactions.
“Using this hashtag, I’ll be sharing useful tools and information that parents and caregivers can use to ensure ongoing stimulation at home. It’s a cause that’s very close to my heart, and I can’t wait to see the impact that this campaign has on parents’ relationship with their children, and on the success of these children later in life,” says Leshabane.
In South Africa, over one-million children aged three to five years old are not accessing any form of early learning, according to Stats SA. Working with Leshabane, SmartStart hopes to leverage the power of the internet and social media to provide affordable and accessible quality at-home activities, so that no child gets left behind.
“Olwethu Leshabane is the perfect ambassador for SmartStart, because she understands that early learning isn’t something that just happens with a teacher – it needs to continue at home as well. As a mother herself, she knows how the tools that we provide, can be used by any parent, from any background, to make an impact on their child’s learning and development. We are looking forward to working with her to make a difference,” says Grace Matlhape, CEO at SmartStart.
By 2030, SmartStart aims to contribute to reaching one-million children between the ages of three and five annually. Operating as a social franchise, SmartStart’s early learning model is focused on overcoming structural barriers that prevent access to not only early learning, but to quality early learning. Since inception, SmartStart has set up almost 10 000 new early learning practitioners, who have reached over 100 000 children through their own micro-enterprises. For more information, visit www.smartstart.org.za.
To follow Olwethu Leshabane for top parenting tips and useful early learning tools that can be applied at home, follow her handle @olwe2lesh on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
