written by Lindikaya Ntshinga, inspired by Jean Mpati (Nolukhanyo Educare)
Indigenous Knowledge, Early Childhood Development, and the Future of Learning
📰 FEATURE STORY
When we speak at times, especially these days, we forget to remember izinto zoMakhulu abasi khulisileyo — the things of our grandmothers who raised us.
For us, this was bread and butter. We did not fully understand, coming from Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) that raised us.
I speak here of myself, saying that I did not get the comfort to appreciate or to learn fully. I even joked about the sayings that have deeply impacted my life.
“Kuthatha thina sonke ukukhulisa lo mntwana” (it takes a village to raise a child) and “uMthi ugotywa use lula” (a young tree is easier to shape).
It is with this grounding that I want to pay homage to Nolukhanyo Educare Centre kwaLanga, under the leadership of Principal Jean Mpati, who has served since 1994 — from Mandela times to today.
She has taken these foundational Indigenous Knowledge Systems and translated them into lived practice, aligning strongly with early childhood development thinking reflected in national ECD strategy directions such as The 2030 Strategy for ECD Programmes.
📊 THE GROUND REALITY
- Most young children live in households with low incomes.
- Nearly half live in rural areas or areas with poor infrastructure.
- The majority of children do not have access to quality ECD programmes, and the poorest children are most likely to miss out.
I digress from my original intention, but it is important.
🍎 THE SPAZA INGENUITY: ECONOMICS IN PRACTICE
This is a big shout-out to Principal Mpati for her smart innovation in introducing spaza shop money and basic economics to children at an early age.
Children pool their lunch money, some become store owners, and others become customers. They buy and sell simple goods like fruit and healthy snacks.
This teaches them economics, responsibility, and independence from a very early stage — not in theory, but in practice.
This is something they will carry into teenage years and adulthood because it is being inculcated at the earliest stage of the tree — shaped at Nolukhanyo Educare Centre.
By the time those children reach 2030, the child who was 5 or 6 years old today will be 11 or 12 years old carrying a lived foundation shaped by Principal Jean Mpati.
This is the kind of early intervention that turns policy intention into real impact.
🌍 A CALL TO THE VILLAGE
I challenge donors, social development actors, and partners: work with ECD practitioners like Mama Jean Mpati. This is where transformation begins — not in documents, but in classrooms where children learn through lived experience.
It takes a village, and I am part of that village in my small way — another screw in this machinery of raising young, beautiful human vessels.
I thank you.
Camagu Makhosi.
— Lindikaya Ntshinga
BSc Computer Science and Information Systems (UCT)
Advanced Diploma in TVET (NMU)
Umntu wa Bantu
Camagu, Chosi and Makhosi
Tata ka Langa, Thuthuzela no Zazi
