Generations of care celebrated as Educare Forum marks Women’s Month
Mitchells Plain paused this week to recognise the often-unseen labour of women who helped establish early childhood development (ECD) centres across the township. The Mitchells Plain Educare Forum hosted an event on 20 August at Watergate to honour practitioners and elder carers who, over decades, provided care, learning and stability for children in the area.
The forum, which has been operating since 1994, used the occasion as part of Mitchells Plain’s 50th anniversary commemorations to single out women who started some of the first educare centres in neighbourhoods such as Westridge. Forum chairperson Valda Phillips said the recognition was overdue given the foundational role these women played.
“Women in ECDs are often not acknowledged for the role they played in laying the foundation for our children’s development,” said Valda Phillips.
Why the recognition matters
Speakers at the event emphasised that ECD work goes beyond basic childcare. Dr Alicia English highlighted that early childhood practice builds the platform from which young people go on to learn and develop throughout their lives. Her remarks underlined the long-term social and educational consequences of quality early years provision.
Deputy chairperson Soraya Abbas said the forum also wanted to remember the elderly women — the gogos and mamas — who cared for children in the 1980s when many families relied on them for daily care. Those older carers, Abbas noted, created safe and nurturing spaces in difficult circumstances.
Continuity, learning and community solidarity
Practitioners at the event described ECD as a vocation that combines dedication with a commitment to continual improvement. Candice Willemburg of Unity in Christ Educare in Tafelsig said educators were stronger when they worked collectively, supporting one another and sharing knowledge. She paid tribute to women in their 60s and 70s who continue to study in order to improve the services they provide.
Those remarks point to two enduring challenges for ECD in Mitchells Plain: the need for sustained professional development and recognition of the sector’s labour, and the importance of networks that can share resources and best practice across informal and formal centres.
- Historical recognition: The forum has served the community for 32 years, since 1994.
- Community memory: Elder carers from the 1980s were specifically honoured for their role in day-to-day childcare.
- Professional development: Local practitioners stressed collective learning and ongoing studies among older ECD workers.
Local implications and what comes next
The event demonstrates how local civic organisations remain central to Mitchells Plain’s social infrastructure. While national and provincial policymaking determines funding and registration frameworks for ECD, the practical day-to-day work of caring for and educating children is delivered by communities themselves — often by women whose contribution is under‑appreciated.
Honours such as this provide reputational recognition, but they also expose gaps that need policy attention: accredited training opportunities, consistent funding to stabilise centres, and formal mechanisms to capture and transfer the institutional memory held by long-serving practitioners. Strengthening those areas would help ensure the foundations these women built remain robust as Mitchells Plain approaches its next decades.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Forum founding year | 1994 |
| Forum age (as of 2024) | 32 years |
| Event | Women’s Month recognition at Watergate, Mitchells Plain (20 August) |
Speakers and attendees described the ceremony as heartfelt and reflective. For parents, carers and policy makers in Mitchells Plain, the message was clear: the township’s ECD sector rests on decades of unpaid and under‑resourced labour that deserves both acknowledgement and tangible support going forward.
Looking ahead, practitioners said they will continue to collaborate and pursue training, ensuring that the legacy celebrated during Women’s Month is translated into stronger, better‑supported ECD provision for Mitchells Plain’s children.
