aRe Bapaleng

Initiative Year: 2020 | Duration: 5–10 years

Objectives/Background

Seriti Institute’s aRe Bapaleng programme (“Let’s Play” in Sesotho) was launched in 2020 to address the crisis in ECD in South Africa’s marginalised communities. Despite progressive ECD, many children aged 0–6 still lack consistent access to nurturing care due to poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, gender based violence, climate vulnerability and uneven ECD service delivery. aRe Bapaleng was designed as a community rooted, systems strengthening intervention grounded in the Nurturing Care Framework. Its core aim is to empower parents/caregivers, ECD practitioners and unemployed youth to become active partners in young children’s holistic development. Immediate objectives include increasing caregiver confidence and responsive caregiving practices, strengthening home–centre partnerships, enhancing ECD centre capacity, creating livelihood opportunities for unemployed youth as ECD Champions, and building social cohesion by addressing parenting and socio economic stressors. By 2026, the programme is nation-wide having reached over 135,000 parents and caregivers and activated over 4,000 unemployed youth across all nine provinces. Results show improved caregiver confidence, stronger parent–child interactions, better child outcomes and enhanced social cohesion, positioning aRe Bapaleng as one of South Africa’s most comprehensive and scalable community based ECD interventions. For more explore our 2025 Impact Report - https://seriti.org.za/news/are-bapaleng-2025-impact-report/

Context/Target Group

aRe Bapaleng targets the most vulnerable segments of South Africa’s early childhood population and the adults who care for them. The primary target groups are parents/ caregivers of children aged 0–8 years, ECD practitioners and day mothers working in registered and unregistered centres, and unemployed youth (18–35 years) seeking meaningful work and skills development.The programme prioritises families and centres in areas facing multiple layers of disadvantage, including high poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, climate vulnerability and limited ECD access. Implementation spans all nine provinces, with strong presence in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Free State and Gauteng’s peri-urban and township areas. Programme sites include deep rural villages, informal settlements, farm-worker communities and urban townships.Most participating families are in the lowest wealth quintiles. Many caregivers are single mothers or grandmothers, often managing multiple stressors. Youth unemployment in these communities frequently exceeds 60%. aRe Bapaleng reaches these groups both directly (through Active Learning Workshops and Parent Clubs) and indirectly (via partnerships with ECD centres and day mothers). It also recruits unemployed youth as ECD Champions, strengthening local capacity and employability. By working within the communities where families live, the programme minimises barriers and ensures cultural relevance and national reach.

Implementation Approach

aRe Bapaleng employs a multi-layered, ecosystem-strengthening approach that integrates support for parents and caregivers with capacity-building of local ECD structures and youth employment pathways. The model rests on four interconnected pillars.

Pillar 1 – Responsive Caregiving and Self-Efficacy: The programme equips parents and caregivers, including informal day mothers, with knowledge and skills through face-to-face and digital channels. The aim is to increase responsive caregiving and parent self-efficacy — caregivers’ belief in their ability to support their child’s learning, development and wellbeing.A key feature is the train-the-trainer model. In areas without Seriti field coordinators, local partner facilitators are trained in-person to deliver activities and supported by ongoing remote mentorship.Core activities include:

• Active Learning Workshops (ALWs): 6–8 experiential sessions grounded in learning through play, covering responsive caregiving, early literacy, nutrition and food gardens, psychosocial support, disability inclusion, climate-smart practices+. Participants actively practise activities to build confidence and apply them at home.

• Parent Clubs: Practitioner-led regular gatherings that reinforce learning, foster peer support and build community belonging.

• Home Visits: Personalised support by field coordinators or ECD Champions for households needing additional guidance.

Pillar 2 – Practitioner Training & Centre Strengthening: aRe Bapaleng trains ECD practitioners and day mothers to facilitate Parent Clubs and promote nurturing care. Training includes the full ALW curriculum, facilitation skills and use of low-cost play materials. Centres receive toolkits and ongoing WhatsApp mentorship, transforming them into community hubs that strengthen links between ECD centres and homes. Pillar 3 – Youth Activation & Public Employment: The programme recruits unemployed youth (18–35 years) as ECD Champions through partnerships with the National Youth Service and other public employment initiatives. Champions receive training, stipends and hands-on experience delivering ECD services, while also gaining other skills e.g. work readiness/soft skills, financial, digital literacy. This dual benefit expands local ECD capacity and creates employment pathways for youth. Pillar 4 – Continuous Peer & Digital Support: Sustainability is supported through WhatsApp peer groups, a digital resource portal and an optional low-cost membership model (R900/yr)

Partnerships & Areas for Strengthening

aRe Bapaleng has demonstrated strong results and scalability in South Africa. As we look toward 2026 and beyond, we aim to adapt and expand the programme across the African continent. To achieve this, we need to strengthen our funding pipeline and build strategic partnerships that support sustainable growth beyond South Africa.We are particularly interested in collaborating with organisations that share our vision of community-led, holistic early childhood development. Key areas we seek to strengthen include:

• Expanding our train-the-trainer model by partnering with national ECD networks, NGOs and governments to train local facilitators in-person, followed by ongoing remote mentorship, enabling them to independently deliver Active Learning Workshops and Parent Clubs.

• Building a more robust and diversified funding pipeline for 2026 to support multi-country pilots and adaptation.

• Facilitating mutual learning and contextual adaptation, including translation of materials and peer exchange across Africa.

• Exploring adaptation of the ECD Champion model in partnership with youth-focused initiatives.

We approach these partnerships with humility and a commitment to co-creation and local ownership. We invite you to explore our website and read our 2025 Impact Report for more information or contact us directly: https://seriti.org.za/programmes/are-bapaleng/.