Brics summit: first lady Tshepo Motsepe hosts lunch for spouses

SA’s first lady Tshepo Motsepe held a luncheon for spouses during the Brics summit to encourage influential women to push for early childhood development in poor and middle-income countries.

The luncheon was held on Wednesday and guests included members of early childhood development organisations, the department of basic education and wives of ambassadors and delegates.

Motsepe encouraged the guests to remember the importance of nurturing their children and playing a significant role in their development, as women are generally the primary caregivers in a family.

“Given our considerable vantage point and capital as first ladies, we must advocate for early childhood development and mobilise the resources and support that are available to us. We are in the fortunate position that we can work with other people in society to make it possible,” she said.

The key guest speaker, the CEO of the Early Care Foundation, Ipeleng Mohlala, presented statistics on early childhood development which found that 50% of countries have increased their investments in nurturing children and bringing awareness to supporting children with learning barriers.

However, many children in middle-class households do not reach their full potential. 

“About 250-million children under the age of five in middle-class households are not reaching their full potential. Only one out of five children in low-income countries [attend] preschool, which is a big concern. One out of 200 children are misplaced and 300-million aged between zero and five years need childcare. The need for us to come together to address the challenge of early childhood development is a big task which we must look at,” she said.

Motsepe said 40% of children in poor and middle-income countries have poor early childhood development, a clear indicator of poor economic opportunities in the future.

“This drawback hits us starkly as women, and foremost as first ladies and spouses of heads of state, since most of us come from these countries. We are from low- and middle-income countries.”

“The advantages of early childhood development cannot be overemphasised. We are all aware of the deficiencies in personal and social skills and measurements of the intelligence of an individual. Very early childhood development has a strong effect on the cognitive qualities of children [later in life],” Motsepe said.

The lunch was followed by a sit-down meeting with several spouses of other high-ranking officials, including Humile Mjongile, wife of Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

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