MEC donates hygiene and dental care kits to ECD centre in Bonnievale

The Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Albert Fritz, donated 70 oral hygiene packs to 50 children at the Kapteinetjies Educare Centres, in Bonnievale (Cape Winelands region).

Each pack consisted of a face and hand cloth, hand-soap, toothbrush and toothpaste. These packs will assist the ECD practitioners to teach and encouraging good hygiene habits in children at a young age.

The visit is the beginning of a broader hygiene and oral health campaign being driven by the MEC at our registered Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres.

The good health and well-being of children at ECD facilities is a key priority, as it impacts of the school readiness and life chances of children in later years.

The Department of Social Development invests heavily in early childhood development, with the programme having been allocated R314.4-million this financial year.

Key to our efforts is the roll-out of the Provincial Early Childhood Development (ECD) Strategy. The ECD Strategy has already seen the development of a ground-breaking pilot ECD programme for language and cognitive development at 100 Provincial sites.

Parents can check on the registration status of the child’s ECD centre by contacting the Department’s hotline on 0800 220 250.