Graduation Day Celebrated by Tsundzukani Bright Eye's Daycare Center

As reported in Plenty Canada’s most recent donor letter (and in a few recent newsletter communications), the Tsundzukani Bright Eye's Daycare Center in South Africa has been a tremendous success for both Plenty Canada and its allies in the region. The Center has a undergone a number of crucial improvements, such as the construction of a rainwater storage system and the growing of a vegetable garden, that make the space more friendly to children and more environmentally sustainable.
 
Of course, Plenty Canada believes that it is important to celebrate the human side of these milestones as well, to highlight the actual people whose lives will be changed by this project. On that note, Plenty Canada would like to take a moment to commemorate the graduation of 31 children from the Daycare Center’s program in December of this past year.
 
Their date of graduation was marked by a ceremony with the children's parents in attendance, in which all the graduates received a diploma commemorating their time at the Center.  
 
The breadth of their education, and its impact on their future, cannot be overstated, and is best illustrated by this quote from Remember Nyango, founder of the Center:
 
“Our Tsundzukani Daycare Centre's mission is to prepare academically the children from the deep rural communities of the Mpumalanga province, so that they can go out there and face the modern world of today. This will also include teaching them music, dance and other art forms thus providing them with a sense of cultural identity and pride for their Indigenous traditions.”
 
As you can see, the Daycare Center is not merely a space to look after the children while their parents are at work -- though it does accomplish that crucial function as well, of course. Not only does the program increase their chances of academic success further down the line, a huge boost to their future economic prospects, but it also provides them with a robust Indigenous cultural education. This cultural education, to Plenty Canada, is just important as every other element of the daycare program. After all, material success is valuable, but restoring and preserving ties to traditional cultures is a core part of the Daycare's, and Plenty Canada's, missions.
 
If the news of a mass graduation of children has you wondering whether or not the program is beginning to wind down or decrease in scope, rest assured that this could not be further from the truth. During the 2023 school year, the Daycare Center has over 60 children attending classes. That's 60 children whose parents will be able to work, assured that their children are receiving loving care and a great education; 60 children whose childhoods and futures will be enriched through cultural connections and education.
 
Things are only looking up for the Tsundzukani Bright Eye's Daycare Center. Between Remember Nyango's dedication and Plenty Canada's assistance, it seems like there's almost no limit to the ways in which the Center will grow and evolve in the future.
 
— Mwana Burmudes and Breton Campbell