21/08/2026
KHULULEKA ECD@HOME MODEL -TRANSFORMING THE RURAL ECD LANDSCAPE
According to the latest Thrive by Five index, 55% of children not enrolled in ECD programmes are falling far behind in their developmental milestones. These children and families are often beyond the reach of traditional centre-based services, leaving children without the strong start they deserve. MODELS LIKE KHULULEKA’S ECD@HOME PROVIDE A PROVEN, SCALABLE SOLUTION TO THIS CHALLENGE.
It is not just another ECD delivery model, it’s a COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT MODEL, designed to scale-up ECD services by cascading capacity and competence within communities and developing the ECD workforce.
Khululeka have spent over 15 years, developing and refining it’s integrated home based model to support families in rural areas with children from conception through to age five.
How does this model strengthen communities
This EVIDENCE BASED APPROACH is embedded within the community, driven by a deliberate and strategic investment in local people, capacitating selected Community Development Practitioners to roll out programmes and services in their respective communities.
These CDP’s ARE RECRUITED through community-led panels and TRAINED INTENSIVELY by Khululeka to deliver content, facilitate workshops, collect M&E data, and most crucially, build supportive relationships with families. They don’t just deliver content but become CATALYSTS OF SYSTEMIC CHANGE.
The most vulnerable families are identified through a COMMUNITY MAPPING exercise, finding those with children not enrolled in any ECD programme, many of whom are also affected by food insecurity, youth-headed households, or substance abuse.
Each CDP, with guidance and support from Khululeka, RECRUITS, SELECTS AND ON-BOARDS THE FAMILIES, PARENTS AND YOUNG MOTHERS they will work with, using specific criteria to enable the most appropriate selection.
The CDP’S ATTEND REGULAR TRAINING, enabling them to conduct bi-weekly home visits to each family, as well as host workshops for parents and young mothers. Over the period of 12 months they deliver a structured curriculum that supports responsive parenting, nutrition, health, hygiene, routines, early stimulation and building a safe and nurturing home environment where children can thrive.
WHAT MAKES THIS MODEL DIFFERENT
Embedded in this home-based curriculum is a LEARNING@HOME component which has been transforming how parents interact more meaningfully with their children at home, using creative, user friendly, low-cost tools to spark at-home learning. Children aged 3–5 receive personalised workbooks, toys, books and craft kits; caregivers are given parenting handbooks with weekly activities, songs, and conversation prompts to try at home. CDP’s model for the parents how to use the materials and encourage them to do easy, fun activities with their children before their next visit. IT’S A SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL WAY TO CREATE STRUCTURE, SPARK STIMULATION, AND BUILD THE CAREGIVER’S CONFIDENCE IN BEING THEIR CHILD’S FIRST TEACHER. The results have been remarkable, as caregivers who initially expressed hesitation or self doubt are now actively engaging in their children’s development.
The beauty of this model is witnessing the relationship change between the caregivers and the children. The children’s love for their workbooks and their continual appeals for more engagement are generating a positive response by the parents, who are happy to oblige with their new found skills and user friendly tools to guide them.
It’s also a model built to respect the dignity of vulnerable families by meeting them in their own home environment and not expecting them to attend a workshop, instead, CDPs meet them where they are - literally and figuratively.
Hosting WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG AND PREGNANT MOTHERS, gives them a headstart in their child’s development, giving them the opportunity to gain vital pre and post-natal information, learn how to care for and provide a nurturing environment, as well as early stimulation for their babies. Support groups naturally emerge from bringing these young mothers together and they so appreciate the intervention and the relationships they forge together with the mutual support they gain from one another as they grapple with the challenges of motherhood.
Our CDPs aren’t just messengers - they’re mentors, role models, and future ECD champions. Some go on to become ECD practitioners or start their own centres, which is exactly what we hope to see. WE'RE DEVELOPING PARA-PROFESSIONALS WHO CAN FILL THE SKILLS AND ACCESS GAP THAT EXISTS IN THE SECTOR.
WHAT WE'RE LEARNING
Relationships are the entry point – Building trust and respect is foundational to the model’s success.
Community ownership drives sustainability – When CDPs are respected locals, uptake and impact increase significantly.
Skills development matters – Capacity building of CDPs creates a cascading effect in the community and addresses the broader youth unemployment and ECD workforce gaps.
Non-centre-based doesn’t mean low-impact – In fact, the most vulnerable families are often reached only through non-centre-based interventions.
Scalability requires investment – This model is more resource-intensive per child, but its long-term benefits (reducing developmental delays, improving school readiness and strengthening families) are far greater.
A CALL TO PARTNER WITH US
To fellow non-profits, if you’re interested in closing the access and skills gap in South Africa’s ECD landscape, then non-centre-based, community-embedded programmes like this one are worth considering. We invite you to engage with us, become an IMPLEMENTING PARTNER, learn from this model, and help us scale what works - because every child deserves to grow within a context that supports their developmental needs.
