27/05/2026
The picture so often portrayed is very different from what we see on the ground every day.
Yes, a R580 social grant helps—but it is a drop in the ocean compared to what a child actually needs to thrive. We hear it often: “get a job,” “make better choices,” “stop having children.” But the reality is far more complex—entrenched poverty, unemployment, gender-based violence, transport costs, and a system meant to support families but often becomes a barrier instead.
Today we met another three-year-old who cannot go to school.
Not because she is not ready. Not because she is not loved. But because she is trapped in a system that is making things worse.
Her parents are both unemployed. They cannot afford repeated taxi trips into town to apply for an ID. Without an ID, there is no birth certificate. Without those documents, there is no grant. And without a grant, there is no preschool.
Even the R500 monthly preschool fee is out of reach. And yet the research is clear: access to early childhood development and education is one of the strongest predictors of breaking the cycle of poverty. Children who access quality early learning are significantly more likely to complete school, gain employment, and avoid long-term poverty traps. School is not optional—it is one of the most powerful exit points from this cycle.
School is also food, safety, stimulation, and structure. No school often means no daily meal, no early learning foundation, and a deeper slide into vulnerability.
So what do we do?
We say yes.
We partner with a preschool principal, identify the child through clinic records and community checks, and secure a sponsor for R700 a month—R500 for school, and the rest for transport to Home Affairs, food, stationery, and basic nutritional support.
We operate at a loss—but she gets to go to school, eat, learn, and build the foundation that research shows is critical to breaking intergenerational poverty.
We also walk alongside the family to access IDs, a birth certificate, and eventually a grant (currently around R580), while supporting the mother to build a small income through skills training and selling goods via our online platform.
Because the alternative is waiting until she is five—often already malnourished, already developmentally behind, and already further trapped in a cycle that becomes harder to break with every passing year.
We are also sitting with urgent cases today: a young boy with severe malnutrition needing immediate medical follow-up, and a six-year-old girl being told by her school that she is “stupid” and must leave—despite no developmental screening since 18 months. There may be an undiagnosed condition that could be identified and supported.
These are not statistics. These are children we know by name.
And we cannot unseen them.
The reality is that the system needs to change, but in the meantime, we keep going so that no child is left behind.
