Victor Mecoamere

Victor Mecoamere

A special crop of unsung heroes in the ongoing campaign to nurture better future leaders is due to be honoured through the 2008 Absa and Sowetan Early Childhood Development Awards.

The awards (ECD) are supported by the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development, the Department of Education, the office of the Rights of the Child in the Presidency and SABC Education.

ECD practitioners are entrusted with sculpting and moulding our children into well-rounded young human beings, who are ready to embrace formal schooling with a solid foundation and an eager passion.

The first nine years of a child's life are arguably fundamentally essential to their development as human beings. So, well-structured ECD is so vital that the success of a nation often depends on the success of its ECD programmes.

The awards will be given for:

l ECD practitioner of the year;

l Home-based care centre of the year;

l Community-based care centre of the year;

l Resource and training centre of the year.

Provincial eliminations and award ceremonies are due to be held in:

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, on July 17;

Bloemfontein, Free State, on July 18;

Mafikeng, North West, on July 24;

Kimberley, Northern Cape, on July 25;

East London, Eastern Cape, on July 31;

Cape Town, Western Cape, on August 1;

Polokwane, Limpopo, August 7;

Johannesburg, Gauteng, on August 8; and

Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, on August 15.