COVID: Alex day care centre struggling to get by as pandemic bites into resources

As early childhood development centres battle financial pressure thanks to COVID-19, a daycare centre owner in Gauteng has told the publication about the sacrifices she’s had to make to keep the facility going.

Having lost their jobs or facing other economic hardships, many parents have not been able to pay fees.

Refiloe Zwane owns the Lesedi Day Care Centre in Alexandra, which opened its doors in 2014 to look after some of the community’s most vulnerable. The centre, like many others, has not been spared from the devastating impact of the pandemic.

In a desperate bid to keep it open, Zwane said that she’s had to tap into her own financial resources to keep it afloat. But she’s lost more than half of the children who were forced to stop attending.

“The numbers decreased, we used to have 80 children, now we are left with only 36,” Zwane said.

Zwane’s sacrifices have also had a chain reaction as she has had to let some of her staff go in order to keep the centre open.

“Even teachers, we couldn’t pay our staff, so teachers have to leave and look for other jobs,” she said.

The ECD centre is also struggling to sustain its nutrition programme.

-EWN

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